


History in the Making

by kikibridges13



Series: History in the Making Series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Marauders' Era, Multi, OotP AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-10
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2017-12-08 01:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/755518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikibridges13/pseuds/kikibridges13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry discovers a box in Grimmauld Place filled with things of Sirius and Remus's pasts. When Harry discovers a letter to Remus, it sparks the remaining Marauders to reveal their past and relive their Hogwarts memories. Set during Order of the Phoenix and flashes to Marauder's Era.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> The way this story is going to be told is through flashback. We'll see Harry and the Marauders throughout the story, especially when parts of Remus's past intrigue him the most…think of it like how Titanic was…starts off in present, goes back in time. Just be aware, the next chapter will introduce three new characters, one is the younger sister of one of the Marauders. Please do not give up on this story because of these new OCs. They will have a purpose to the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I first wrote this story during my sophomore year of college in 2010. Now, five years later and graduated, I've realized that this story needs a major edit. It was posted under my previous ff account americanidolfreak, but I had deleted it when I decided to redo it. Now I can't access that account thanks to YahooMail. Some of my other stories won't get this kind of care from me, but this particular story has stuck with me over the years. Plus I've recently discovered the chapter outline I did years ago for the sequel and have started to work on it.
> 
> The way this story was told is through flashback. We'll see Harry, Remus, and Sirius present tense from Order of the Phoenix. Just be aware, the next chapter will introduce three new characters, one is the younger sister of one of the Marauders; it is a major Marauder AU. Please do not give up on this story because of these new OCs. They will have a purpose to the story.

Christmas was coming up at Grimmauld Place, and it was the very last place Harry wanted to be.

When he weighed out the possibilities of either being there where everybody stared worriedly at him or at Hogwarts with Umbridge always breathing down his neck, he chose Grimmauld. At least Sirius wasn't treating him any differently. The Weasleys and Hermione had left for St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley, and Harry had decided to stay at Sirius's childhood home, hoping to spend some time with his godfather. Sirius had all but agreed for him to hang around and the Weasleys had taken off, leaving Harry to wander the old Black home while Sirius and Remus stayed at Headquarters.

He wandered into one of the rooms they had spent hours cleaning over the summer. Looking around, he noticed a large box in the corner of the room. Intrigued, he bent down and opened it, finding several small gags and joke products, letters, scraps of parchment with several different handwriting on them, and pictures. Harry picked up one of the pictures on top, his parents' smiling faces waving back at him with Remus and Sirius on each side. By the looks of what they were wearing in the picture, it was another picture of their wedding day, something he had seen through pictures Hagrid had collected for him after his first year at Hogwarts. Shutting the box, Harry picked it up, gripping the edges of it as he made his way to the kitchen.

"What's that, Harry?" Sirius asked as Harry entered, standing up. Harry put the box down and opened it again. Remus also stood up and walked over to the end of the table.

"I was looking around in one of the rooms we cleaned out over the summer, and I found this," Harry said. "I was just wondering what it was…I noticed some pictures of Mum and Dad."

Remus looked from Sirius to Harry before looking down into the box, picking up the same picture Harry had looked at earlier. "It's some of our old things from school," he said in awe. "Pictures, letters - even notes we passed during class." He looked up at Sirius. "I didn't know you kept all of these things."

"Well, it wasn't probably all of mine," Sirius said, shrugging his shoulder. "I think the things in here are things that others…left here over time."

Harry subconsciously listened to the two discuss the contents of the box. He rummaged through it, picking up a piece of parchment that seemed to be a conversation between all of the Marauders. He skimmed it before handing it to Sirius, who took it and read it, a small sad smile coming across his face.

"I remember this," Sirius said, passing the note to Remus. "We were planning our next prank in the middle of Binns's class."

Remus scoffed. “We always planned our pranks in Binns's class. It was the only one we could get away with it.”

“True.”

"He was a ghost when you were at school?"

"Yeah, poor bloke. I don't think Dumbledore has the heart to tell him he's dead."

"That, or he just doesn't care," Harry muttered.

The two adults chuckled slightly as Harry continued to rummage through the box. He found a few more pictures of his parents, a few of Sirius with a girl, which he showed to Sirius. The smile on his face never left as he took the picture, holding it as if it would fall to pieces. The three of them continued to go through the contents of the box, Sirius and Remus pausing to relive things with Harry, which he listened intently. It was nice hearing about his parents while they were in school.

As they reached the bottom of the box, a sealed letter with Remus's name on it in very feminine handwriting lay in the corner.

"Remus, what's this?" Harry asked curiously, handing it to him. Sirius looked up from another piece of parchment that he'd been reading and at the letter in Remus's hand. He let out a heavy sigh, causing Harry to look at him.

"You know too," Remus said quietly, not looking at either of them.

"Yeah. I think so," Sirius muttered, watching his best friend closely.

"What?" Harry asked. Remus didn't respond, but instead unsealed the letter and opened it, reading it slowly. Sirius watched his best friend for a moment before looking back down at the parchment in his hand, not really reading it or even seeing it. Harry remained silent, confused at what was going on. He looked back up at Remus, who made it to the bottom of the letter. He closed his eyes and let out a slow shaky breath before getting up and walking from the room.

"Sirius?" Harry asked quietly. "Is Remus okay?"

Sirius sighed. "Harry, that letter…it brings up a lot of memories for Remus. Most are good, mind you, but, they're bittersweet for him."

"Who was the letter from?"

"That's something for Remus to tell you, Harry," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his neck. "There are some things about Remus that many people don't know."

Harry nodded, and looked back in the box, rummaging through the old pictures. A few minutes later, Remus returned still holding the letter tight in his hand, his eyes having a tint of red in them. Harry looked at his ex-Professor with a guilty look.

"If I had known the letter was bad," he began, but Remus cut him off.

"It's okay, Harry," he said, sitting down. "Really, I should be the one apologizing."

"Remus -" Remus held up a hand to silence Sirius, who fell silent.

"I haven't seen this letter in almost twenty years," Remus continued quietly, looking down at it, running a hand over the words on the parchment. "The letter just brought back a few things. A few requests that I…just haven't been able to do."

"Who was the letter from?" Harry asked curiously. He sat back down at the table, Sirius following suit, both watching Remus carefully.

Remus looked at Sirius before looking back down at the letter. "It was from someone at school. Her name was Elizabeth," Sirius said, taking the hint from his best friend. Remus looked at Sirius, as did Harry. "Everybody called her Liz for short. She, uh…was-"

"We were together," Remus finally said in a quiet voice. Harry looked back at Remus with a surprised look on his face.

"How come you've never mention her before?" Harry asked.

"While I was your teacher, I felt that there were other things more important than discussing my past," Remus said. "We still thought Sirius was responsible for Voldemort finding you and your parents at the time, mind you."

"There's many parts of our past that only the older members of the Order know about," Sirius said. "It's not that we don't want to talk about it. It's more along the lines of everybody knows and they have other things to worry about than our stories."

"How did you meet?" Harry replied, not only eager to hear more about their past. He'd heard many times about Sirius and his parent's lives while at Hogwarts, but Remus's life was a mystery to him. He looked between his ex-professor and godfather with interest.

Remus looked at Sirius and smiled sadly. "Padfoot, I may need your help with some parts." Sirius nodded and gave an encouraging glance as Remus took in a deep breath and looked back at Harry.

"I met her through someone else you probably didn't know existed in my life…"

 

 


	2. The Marauderettes

"Come on, Remus, the train's leaving!"

The familiar sound of the whistle blew loudly on the platform of Nine and Three Quarters. Students were hastily boarding the train or giving relatives' one last hug that would last until Christmas holidays. The whistle blew one last time before the compartment doors started to shut and the train began to pull slowly from the station and towards the long track that would stop in Hogsmeade station. For two siblings however, the only thing that mattered was finding their own group of friends.

"Cutting it close, aren't you?" Cassie Lupin said as her older brother jumped onto the moving train. She had dark brown hair just like Remus, except blond highlights blending in streaks, all thanks to a charm she'd learn from an older dorm mate. She was shorter than Remus, but where Remus seemed lanky and thin, Cassie was the opposite from her years of playing Quidditch. Her bright blue eyes were currently looking at her brother with slight annoyance. "As a prefect, aren't you supposed to be a role model and be a little on time?"

Remus grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I think James and Sirius may have rubbed off on me."

"May have? Remind me, how did you become a prefect again?"

"The same way you became Quidditch Captain, I suppose."

"At least Quidditch goes mostly on how well you play, not how many times you and your friends can end up in detention in a month." Cassie retorted to her brother.

"Because only you and your friends have been in detention three times in one month," Remus added.

Cassie rolled her eyes, then smirked. "I'll see you later." She didn't wait for him to bid a goodbye of his own, and headed down toward the end of the train, stopping outside of the compartment she and her two best friends had shared for the past four years, seeing them already waiting for her.

Elizabeth, or Liz as everybody called her, was Cassie's fellow Hufflepuff housemate. She sat near the window, looking out at the passing scenery. Her black hair had grown since the last time they had wandered through the halls of Hogwarts to her shoulders. She was also on the Quidditch Team with Cassie, playing Chaser where Cassie was Keeper. She'd already changed into her Hogwarts robes, the yellow and black tie hanging around her neck and not tied.

Rosalina (or Rose to anybody who valued not taking a trip to the hospital wing) was sitting across from Liz, her brown eyes looking down at a book, dark mahogany hair covering her face and Slytherin tie. The three had met their first day on the Hogwarts Express, and weren't about to let the infamous house rivalries keep them from being friends.

Apart from being close friends, they also competed against Remus and his friends in the constant prank wars that wrecked havoc within the walls of Hogwarts. They were known as the Marauderettes to the Gryffindor boys, which Cassie had deemed them such after hearing Sirius and Remus refer to their group as the male counterpart.

Being the little sister to a Marauder had its advantages. Cassie, being the sneaky, younger sister managed to discover how James, Sirius, and Peter were able to help Remus during the full moon while in school. After they mastered the art of the Animagus, and after threatening to inform Professor McGonagall of their new handy trick, had gotten help from Sirius and Remus and mastered her own form of a hummingbird. She couldn't help Remus as well as his friends could during his transformations, but at least he wasn't completely alone.

She had passed the information along to her best friends, but they hadn't been able to completely master their form. She was sure by the end of the year (and maybe some convincing and bribing of the Marauders) they could sneak around too.

Rose looked up from the book she was reading, her eyes alight with excitement as she bounced up from her seat and tightly hugged Cassie as she slid the compartment door open.

"Rose, I can't breathe," Cassie choked out, all the while hugging back her best friend. Rose let her go, only for Cassie to have Liz hug her in the same manner.

"Liz…again, I can't breathe."

"Sorry," they both apologized, and Liz let go of her.

"We missed you," Rose said.

"A whole week?" Cassie asked bemusedly. "We just saw each other in Diagon Alley not even a week ago."

"A lot happens in a week," Liz said shrugging her shoulders.

"We've wrote to each other every day."

"And?" Rose and Liz said at the same time.

"Well, I'm not complaining," Cassie grinned. "As much as I love my brother, he's not as entertaining as you two are."

At the mention of Remus, Liz looked back toward the window, her face slightly pink. Cassie noticed this and narrowed her eyes at her best friend, but decided not to discuss it now. She moved to sit down beside where Rose had been setting and looked at the book she'd been reading as Liz and Rose sat back down.

"So, how is it that both of you managed to become prefects?" Cassie asked, indicating the tiny badges they had pinned to their robes. "I mean, sure, I can see Rose, but Liz?"

"Hey!" Liz protested.

"How did any of us get any kind of badge?" Rose said. "You're Quidditch captain!"

"Maybe this is a sign that we should pay more attention to school and not so much on pranks," Liz suggested.

The three of them looked at each other. "And let the boys have all the fun?" Cassie said. "No way."

"But, your brother's a prefect," Liz turned pink in the face mentioning Remus. Once again, Cassie pretended not to notice.

"And he's in trouble as much as the other Marauders. We just have to be smart and not get caught."

"So, what's our first order of business in the prank world?" Rose asked, standing up and putting her book back into her trunk.

"It has to be big….something to set the bar for the boys," Cassie said.

"Then it should take place in the Great Hall," Liz added. "That way they'll know how high the bar actually is."

"Do you want your badge taken away as soon as you walk through the door? We need to start off small, but still big enough to be noticed."

"During class."

"Not Binns," Rose muttered. "The bloody ghost wouldn't even notice."

"During class would work…we have to see if we have any classes or study halls with the boys….then we'll continue this plot." Cassie said.

The three friends continued their plotting as the train traveled closer to Hogsmeade station, all three happy to be back together.

* * *

"Please, tell me why Dumbledore repeats himself every bloody year?"

"Liz, must you find something to complain about?" Cassie said, shaking her head. "And as a prefect, aren't you supposed to be showing the first years to our house?"

Liz smacked her forehead. "Thanks for reminding me," she said, heading to the head of the Hufflepuff table. "Tell Rose I'll talk to her tomorrow?"

"If I see her," Cassie called. "Don't forget she and that damn Snape are prefects too."

Liz rolled her eyes at the mention of Severus Snape and finally retreated towards the head of the Hufflepuff table. Cassie watched her best friend go, deciding to wait for her in their common room. She sat at the Hufflepuff table for a few minutes to let the crowd toward the exit disperse before standing up, her eyes darting over to the table across from her, seeing who she had been hoping waiting for her. She smiled a bright smile, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen their connection across the hall before walking toward the exit.

She followed the large group of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs up the stairs, glad when many of them continued up the stairs when she entered the corridor on the first floor. She made her way to the portrait that contained Hufflepuff tower, saying the password and entering the common room, waiting for her best friend to return.

It was nearing midnight before Liz finally made it back to Hufflepuff common room. Not only did she and her fellow Hufflepuff prefect have to show the first years the common room areas, but also had to meet for a prefects meeting, in which Remus was present.

She tiredly said the password to get into the tower and looked around, the common room empty. She said goodnight to the other Hufflepuff prefect and collapsed on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"This is too much responsibility," she muttered to herself, closing her eyes.

"Then why did you sign up for it?"

Liz jumped up from the couch and drew her wand, looking around. "Easy, Liz, it's just me," Cassie said from the stairs that led up to their dorm room. "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah," Liz said tiredly as her best friend sat beside her. "Not only did we basically have to give the first years a tour of the tower, but we had our first prefect meeting as well."

"All of the prefects?" Cassie said interestedly. Liz nodded and looked at Cassie suspiciously. "So…Remus was there?"

Liz turned away from Cassie, but Cassie could still see her face turning pink in the dim light of the fire. "Yeah. He was there…why?"

Cassie smirked. "I knew it."

Liz looked back at her. "Knew what?" she asked airily, her face still flushed.

"You like Remus," Cassie said, making a mock face.

"I do not!"

"You can lie to yourself, but not to me…I can see it," Cassie said, looking at Liz smugly. "How long?"

"Since mid-summer?" Liz confessed, giving up and looking at Cassie with a slight smile on her face. "I guess being over at your place over the summer made me see him in a different light, I dunno."

"I do not want to know this," Cassie muttered, shaking her head and smiling. "It's weird, seeing as it's my brother, but…you should see if he feels the same way."

"No," Liz said shaking her head. "I'd rather not."

"Coward."

"I am not a coward!" Liz said, her voice rising to a high pitched level. "I just don't want to screw up any friendships."

"You'll never know if you don't ask him."

"Cassie, we're not even on a friend basis. I only know him through you," Liz said.

"I'm sure being a prefect will change all of that," Cassie said, looking at her best friend with an amused expression before turning toward the staircase that led to the fifth year dorms. Liz jumped up and caught up with her, still looking a bit bashful of her secret being out.

"You mean you would be okay if I was with your brother?"

Cassie just smiled and rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Oi! Wake up!"

Liz's eyes snapped open as she heard her best friend calling her name. Groggily she sat up and rubbed her eyes as Cassie came into focus.

"What?" Liz slurred out, trying to stifle a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's seven," Cassie said, putting on her school shoes. "We have an hour and a half before classes, so get up."

"Then wake me up closer to that time," Liz mumbled before falling back on the bed and putting her pillow over her head. Of course, her attempt to sleep was interrupted seconds later by Cassie using an accio charm for her pillow and blanket. Sighing in defeat, she set back up and slowly got out of bed and glared at her friend with her arms crossed.

"Okay, I'm up…happy?" she said grumpily.

"Generally, yes," Cassie said with a grin. "Rose is probably waiting for us, we need to go."

Liz nodded, still half-asleep as she began to get ready for class. After getting properly dressed and grabbing their books, the two headed for the Great Hall, where Rose was waiting outside of the large hourglasses that stood opposite of the door that lead outside. She turned when she heard the two approach and grinned broadly.

"Uh oh," Liz said jokingly, "I take it Rose had a good time with her fellow prefect last night?"

"Shut up, Liz," Rose said, ducking her head to hide her face.

"What do you see in that boy, Rose?" Cassie said, looking at her Slytherin friend with her usual incredulous look every time Severus Snape was mentioned. "After everything he does to my brother and his friends? And considering the people he says are his friends?"

"I don't know," Rose said. "There's something about him that's…"

"Slightly greasy?" Liz ventured. She ducked as Rose swatted at her, glaring at her.

"Why don't you ask Liz what she sees in your brother?" Rose retorted, looking between the two Hufflepuffs. Cassie looked at Liz with a bemused expression and crossed her arms.

"Exactly why do you like my brother?" Cassie asked.

"Well, um-"

"Hey, Liz."

Liz spun around at the sound of Remus's voice. She looked up at him quickly before averting her gaze as the older Gryffindor looked at the Marauderettes.

"Hi," Liz said a bit awkwardly, looking back up at him.

"Hey, Cassie."

"What do you want, Remus?" Cassie said, looking at her brother with narrowed eyes.

"I…needed to talk with Liz," he said, smiling at the group.

"Me?" Liz managed to squeak out.

"Yeah, listen," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some things happened with the um…patrol schedule…and the fifth year Gryffindor I had been paired with ended up having his badge taken away."

"Already? How do you lose your badge in less than 24 hours?"

"Good question, but I honestly think James was behind it," Remus said with a shrug. "But, I was wondering…would you mind being my patrol partner? I know last night that you and Rose matched up, but-"

"It's okay," Rose added quickly, causing Liz to turn to her best friend with wide-eyes. "I, um, think Severus needs some help patrolling."

"Are you sure?" Liz said, glaring at Rose. Rose grinned and nodded.

"I'm sure," she replied.

"Well, I'll talk to the Head Boy and Girl and uh, let them know," he said, walking away backward. "I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah, see you later," Liz managed to squeak out before he walked away. He gave one more smile before turning and heading into to the Great Hall, at the same time Rose smacked Liz in the head.

"Ouch, you bloody idiot, what was that for?" Liz growled, rubbing the back of her head as she turned back to her friends.

"You're the idiot!" Rose said. "That boy obviously likes you and you pretend to be oblivious!"

Liz glared at Rose before glancing at Cassie, who had an amused expression on her face. "What?" Liz asked, looking at her best friend oddly.

"You know, we have this art form to show guys we like them," Cassie said. "It's called 'flirting'."

"Shut up," Liz muttered before heading into the Great Hall. Cassie and Rose looked at each other and shook their head before following their friend into the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the original post of this, all three girls were also animagi. I decided that was reaching a bit too much, and changed it this time around. I figured it would be a bit more believable for only Cassie to have also succeeded in her animagus form, as she is Remus's sister.


	3. Conversations and Pranks

After the short interaction between Remus and Liz, it was Cassie and Rose's mission for the rest of the day to make sure they tortured their best friend to no end. Throughout the day if Liz mentioned Remus or he was seen with the Marauders in the halls going to class, the following conversation would ensue.

"Hey Liz," Rose said the third time this happen. "It's Remus…"

"I've noticed," she answered through gritted teeth, however still turning red in the face when he was mentioned.

"Liz and Remus, sitting in a tree…."

"Rose-"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"Look, Rose, it's Severus!"

Rose looked around her wildly, trying to spot him in the crowd. Liz and Cassie laughed as Rose turned back to them glaring.

"That's not funny," she said accusingly, a shade of pink forming on her own face.

"I thought it was," Liz replied as they made it down to the Great Hall. "Besides its payback for what you've been doing to me all day!"

"Cassie's the only one who's getting off lucky on this whole guy-teasing war," Rose grumbled stopping outside the doors that led to their tables.

"Because I'm smart enough to not broadcast it all over my face when he walks by me," Cassie said smugly as they entered the double doors that led to their tables.

"So, he goes here," Liz stated obviously. "That's a start."

"You're so smart, Liz," Cassie said sarcastically. "Other people would have thought he went to Durmstrang or some odd school like that."

Liz stuck out her tongue at Cassie before the three said a quick goodbye to each other to sit at the own tables. Cassie and Liz watched Rose as she joined the Slytherin table, sitting beside Snape. The two looked at each other and shook their head before joining their own table.

"I'll never understand what she sees in him," Liz muttered as they started piling food onto their plates. "Never."

"I'll never understand what you see in my brother," Cassie retorted.

Liz smirked and fell silent, not really wanting to traumatize her best friend with the reasons she liked her brother. The two ate in silence, occasionally commenting on random topics or to talk about the upcoming Quidditch Trial which Cassie was in charge of seeing as she was captain. The two finished dinner and hung around until Rose joined them before leaving the Great Hall together, plotting their schemes at Hogwarts along the way.

"So, I've been thinking more about this prank," Cassie said as they walked toward the doors that led to the courtyard. Liz and Rose looked at her, interested.

"Go on," they said together.

"Since the fifth and sixth years have their study hours at the same time tomorrow, that should be when we act. And to top it off, Professor McGonagall is the one overseeing the two hours we're together."

"So she'll automatically assume it's the Marauders," Liz added.

Rose rolled her eyes. "That's the entire idea, Liz," she said, shaking her head.

"So, are you in?" Cassie asked, looking between her two best friends.

"I'm in," Rose assured.

They both looked at Liz, waiting for a response. "Come on, Liz, don't let you're crush on Remus stop you from terrorizing him and his friends," Rose teased.

Liz glared. "I wasn't thinking about that."

"Liar."

"Fine, I was. But I was also thinking about our Prefect positions."

"Come on, Liz, you've seen what the Marauders are capable of, and Remus still has his Prefect badge and James is still Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain," Cassie said.

"Okay, okay," Liz huffed in defeat. "I'm in."

"Good. Now, here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

Later that night, Liz stood alone outside of the giant hourglasses an hour to midnight, fiddling with the piece of parchment in her hands. Remus had came up to her that evening and gave her the new patrolling schedule, which said they patrolled the castle from eleven to one in the morning every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Of course, during the entire conversation between the two, Liz ended up making a fool of herself in front of him by tripping over her robes as she walked off, giving Rose and Cassie yet another reason to pick and tease her over her feelings for Remus.

The sound of footsteps coming from the stairs made Liz turn away from the hourglasses, seeing Remus descending the stairs. He smiled at her when he got closer, causing her to smile back.

"Hi," he said as he finally made it to her.

"Hi," she greeted timidly. She mentally cursed herself and tried to calm her racing heart as they headed down to the dungeons to begin patrol.

"Uh, how are your classes going?" Remus asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"They're okay," Liz said as they made it down the stairs. "I mean, it's O.W.L. year, so I expect it's going to get busy."

"O.W.L.s," Remus said thoughtfully. "I was so relieved after we finished those tests. Of course, it was short-lived due to, uh…"

"The fact that Sirius and James attacked Snape?" Liz ventured. "I remember that. Or I remember Rose being mad at the two of them and having to hold her back for a few hours afterward."

"You saw that?"

"I think the whole school saw that. And if they didn't, they heard about it."

"James was lucky Snape didn't kill him," Remus muttered. "And to top it off, we all managed to get detention."

"Including you?" Liz said surprised as they made their rounds through the dungeons, "But you didn't do anything."

Remus smirked. "How many times have you, Cassie, and Rose been in trouble due to just one person?"

"A few times. But it's usually because of me or Rose…usually me, but we always get in trouble."

"I think Professor McGonagall has a theory that if one person's involved, everybody's involved. Plus us being in her house doesn't help matters much."

"Professor Sprout isn't like that," Liz said. "I mean she's strict, but not McGonagall strict."

Remus nodded and the two fell silent as they finished walking through the dungeons, making sure students weren't in the halls or any noises were coming from classrooms or the random broom cupboard. Finally they made it back up to the entrance hall and began the long walk up the stairs to the first floor.

"So," Remus said as they started down the first floor corridor, "I guess you're glad to be back at school? I mean we've been back for a few days now, but-"

"I'm always ready to come back to school," Liz responded, smiling. "As soon as I get home for summer, I'm ready to come back."

"Really?" Remus looked intrigued. "You miss it that much?"

"I miss being around my friends. Sometimes they're all I have," Liz mumbled with a shrug, feeling a bit uncomfortable. One thing she rarely mentioned were her parents and her family. Granted, she loved them to death, but having parents who were high up in the Ministry (her mother Head of the Department of Magical Transportation and her father an Auror), she rarely seen them due to the long work hours and emergency calls they were always receiving. Remus must have noticed the uncomfortable silence that followed her answer and fell silent again.

"What about you?" she finally asked. "Are you glad to be back here?"

"I always love coming back to Hogwarts," Remus said, "but I love going home and seeing my parents and Cassie."

"But you see Cassie here."

"True. But it's nice to have all of us together, like it used to be before we came to Hogwarts."

"Do you wish she was in Gryffindor sometimes that way you could see her more?" Liz asked curiously. It felt odd to talk about her best friend to her brother, but sometimes curiosity got the best of her.

"Sometimes. I mean being in two different houses can break a bond two siblings have but I think the sorting hat made a smart choice putting her in Hufflepuff."

"You're lucky to have a sibling. Being an only child doesn't have many perks, mind you."

Remus smiled, but didn't respond, so Liz fell silent again. They continued to patrol the next few stairs in silence, sometimes commenting on the random thought that would come up. They did have to run two people out of a classroom, and even had to duck into one themselves when Peeves the Poltergeist was heard singing loudly ahead of them on a six floor corridor. Finally they managed to make it up to the Astronomy Tower without anymore disturbances with just 15 minutes left of their shift.

"So, you were a prefect last year," Liz said as she stepped onto the battlements looking out onto the grounds. She leaned up against the stone and looked back at him. "How stressful does it get sometimes?"

"It can get intense," Remus said as he joined her. "Especially during the day with all the students, it's hard, having to remember that you're a prefect then too. You have to enforce the rules, and sometimes it can be difficult, especially if you know the person."

"Have you had to that to James or Sirius?" she asked, looking back at him.

"A few times," Remus admitted. "They're always a bit put out, but I think they understand that it's my job."

"I don't know if I could do that. I would feel like that would be a form of betrayal."

"True, but sometimes you have to make hard choices."

"Great," Liz muttered, resting her head on the cool rock. She sighed and looked back up, slightly catching Remus staring at her before he looked away. She tried not react to it, but still felt her cheeks warm with slight embarrassment.

The clock in the tower struck one, causing the two prefects to jump. They looked at each other before smiling. "Well, that wasn't so bad for a first night," Remus said, looking at her. "If only every night was like this."

"How bad can it get?" Liz asked as she stepped away from the edge of the tower and towards the stairs.

"Well, it depends on the situation," Remus said, following suit and catching up with her. "If Peeves is involved, things can get pretty bad."

"I should have known. Has he ever done anything to you?"

"No, but he has managed to turn Moaning Myrtle's bathroom into his own water park."

Liz chuckled and shook her head. "I vaguely remember that. I don't think Filch has ever been so mad in his life."

Remus laughed softly and smiled. "I don't think so either."

The two continued to talk as they subconsciously made it back down to the stairs, not stopping until they reached the portrait that hid the Gryffindor Common Room. "So, I'll meet you tomorrow at the same time?" Remus said as they stopped outside of the portrait.

"Yeah," Liz said smiling. "At least we only have to do this three times a week. I don't think O.W.L.s and patrolling would mix as the year goes on."

"Probably not. But if it gets too bad I'll help. I mean, if you want me to."

Liz smiled and felt her cheeks warming again against her will. "Sure, sounds good."

Remus smiled bigger. "Good," he said, starting to walk backwards. "Will you be alright? I mean, going back to your common room alone."

She nodded. "I'll be fine. See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," he said quietly, looking up at her with a smile. He gave a slight wave before turning back towards the portrait quietly giving the password and disappearing behind the Fat Lady.

Liz sighed and smiled to herself, slightly in a daze that she managed to get through the evening without really embarrassing herself. There were a few times that she had cursed herself mentally, but overall felt like things went well. She made her way back to the floor the Hufflepuff Common Room was hidden and gave the password to the entrance. She looked around the room, surprised to see Cassie sitting by the fireplace with a book in her lap.

"I was wondering when you were going to get back," Cassie said as Liz sat across from her on the couch. "So, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"Patrolling with Remus."

"It went fine."

"Come on, something had to happen."

"Would you really want to know if something did?"

Cassie fell silent, and Liz smirked. "That's what I thought," she muttered.

Cassie responded by blowing a raspberry. "Well, if you're not going to reveal any details, I'm going to bed," she said, standing up and shutting her book.

"Nothing happened. We talked."

"Really? About what?"

"Different things, school, our family….you."

"You talked about me with my brother?" Cassie gave her a suspicious look. "He better not have told you anything embarrassing, because I would hate to have to retaliate."

Liz smiled. "Don't worry. I knew everything already."

Cassie still looked at her suspiciously. "Right." She made her way toward the stairs. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. Don't forget what we're doing tomorrow."

"Like I'd ever forget something as brilliant as making the Marauders look like fools in front of their Head of House."

"Good. Because it happens first thing when study session begins."

* * *

The three friends were almost the first ones to show up the next afternoon for their study hour. Though it wasn't required for everybody to attend, several students did take the time to actually either get ahead on homework or in many cases, get caught up.

"Come on, Liz, we've been back for less than a week and you're already behind on homework?" Rose asked incredulously. "How is that possible?"

"I'm not exactly behind," Liz said in defense. "I just have to add a few paragraphs to my charms paper before I turn it in tomorrow."

"How many is a few, Liz?" Cassie looked at her with her arms crossed.

"An entire parchment length?"

"Liz," Rose and Cassie groaned.

"What happened to not procrastinating like last year?" Cassie asked.

"I've been busy."

"Prefect duties do not take up that much of your time," Rose said. "I'm not behind."

Liz wisely kept her mouth shut and opened her Charms book and grabbed a roll of parchment from her bag. The three friends started to work on assignments as the students started to enter the room, Professor McGonagall sitting at the desk in front of the room. About fifteen minutes into the study hour, Cassie nudged Liz's arm.

"It's time," she whispered.

Liz got Rose's attention and whispered to her what Cassie said. They watched their best friend out of the corner of their eyes, pretending to be working as Cassie pulled out her wand under the long table. Muttering a charm, a piece of chalk floated up from its place on the board and began to write in curly writing,

_I love A.P.W.B.D._

Some students looked up at the sound of the chalk against the board and began to chuckle. Professor McGonagall had also noticed the writing and automatically glared over at the Marauders.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black!" she said angrily. Cassie hastily put her wand back into her pocket as the Transfiguration Professor made her way past them and to her students.

"What?" the two Gryffindors replied in union with a confused expression. Everybody was now looking at them as McGonagall stepped outside of them.

"Would you two like to explain your little message on the board?"

James and Sirius looked at the board, trying not to smile as they looked at their Head of House. She gave them a warning and headed back to her desk, glaring at the two before going back grading the papers on her desk. Rose took the moment to pull out her wand, muttering the same charm as Cassie. The piece of chalk levitated once more and wrote under Cassie's message,

_Dear Albus, I will be waiting for you in the Room of Requirements at midnight. Don't be late._

The laughter in the room increased with the second message, and Professor McGonagall's face was crimson as she walked over to the Marauders again.

"Professor, it's not us, we swear!" James protested as Sirius wiped his tears from laughing so hard.

"Would any other the other infamous Marauders like to confess, then?" she said angrily. "Mr. Lupin? Mr. Pettigrew?"

"It's not me, Professor," Remus said, looking up at his Head of House with a calm expression.

"Or me," Peter squeaked.

"If I find out that the four of you have something to do with this, 50 points from each of you will be taken from Gryffindor!" She straightened her hat and glared at the four before once again going to her desk, looking up every few seconds in the direction of the sixth year Gryffindors. Liz looked at Rose in awe.

"I can't believe you put that!" she whispered as the other two chuckled and continued to looked down at their work.

"Top that, Liz," Rose responded, dipping her quill into the ink pot beside her.

"I can't top that, but…." Liz pulled out her wand, pointing it at the board. For the third time the chalk levitated to the board, and in a very curly design the words  _Mrs. Minerva Dumbledore_  appeared under Rose's message. "I figured that would do."

The Marauderettes couldn't help but forget about their cover and burst out in laughter as Professor McGonagall jumped up from her seat, her face the color of the Gryffindor's ties. The classroom rang from the laughing as McGonagall's narrowed eyes sought out the three girls.

"I should have known that if the Marauders weren't behind this, then perhaps it were you three," she said angrily. "Detention for each of you, Saturday afternoon. Also, 25 points from each of your houses." She glared at the three fifth years. "Miss Evermore, Miss Mallory, I would expect better behavior from prefects and from a Quidditch Captain, Miss Lupin."

Cassie, Rose, and Liz looked at each other, slight smiles still on their face as Professor McGonagall turned to her desk, pulling out her wand and erasing the three messages. Liz shook her head and went back to working on her paper, as did Cassie and Rose. After a few minutes, Liz looked back up, only in the direction of the Marauders. Her gaze went to Remus, who looked back down at his own work as their eyes met.

The three girls knew that by Saturday, they would be complaining about detention with the Deputy Headmistress. But for the time being, it was worth it.


	4. Secrets

As the weeks went by and Liz and Remus began to spend more time together, the awkward air between them gradually disappeared. Liz mustered up enough courage to tell him about her parents, and Remus would tell her little things that people didn't know, except for one thing; his lycanthropy.

Not many people knew about Remus being a werewolf. In fact, within the school, the only ones (not including the professors) who knew about Remus's condition were Sirius, James, Peter, Cassie, and due to Sirius's prank last year, Snape. Over the past few weeks with getting to know Liz, he felt a bond with her. In part, he felt like she was a great friend, and if somebody saw them together, nobody would believe they'd just became this close within a few weeks. The other part of him wanted there to be more than a friendship with her, but when he told Sirius and James this, the two took to teasing him and trying to admit that he had a crush on his sister's best friend.

Finally, after the third week of patrolling, Remus admitted to his friends that he did have feelings toward Liz.

"I knew it," Sirius said, grinning as he laid back on his bed. "I knew you did two weeks ago."

"No you didn't," James protested, "I'm the one who told Remus that he'd end up falling for her."

"Guys," Remus said with a painful expression on his face, "this is bad enough."

"How is this bad?" Sirius looked at him with a perplexed look. "It's about time you found a girl that you liked!"

"You know why this is bad, Padfoot."

"Remus, take a chance," James said, catching onto what Remus was saying. "Just because you become a werewolf for one time a month does not make you dangerous all the time. You're going to have to just, take a risk. Trust her."

"I'm sure that if she feels the same way, she'll understand. She can probably help you, Moony," Sirius added.

"And how do you think she'll be able to do that? It's not like she's an animagus like you all."

"But Cassie is, I'm sure she's been helping her and their Slytherin counterpart."

"I don't want anybody else risking their lives for me."

"Tell her," James said encouragingly, "The sorting hat put you in Gryffindor for a reason."

Remus sighed as he contemplated the situation. He fell silent and lay back on his bed, listening to Sirius and James discuss strategies for the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch game. His mind ran through different ways to try and being to explain to Liz how different he was. After a few minutes, he sat back up and looked at his two best friends.

"I'm going to tell her."

* * *

For the next few days, Remus tried to focus on finding the perfect way to tell Liz about his lycanthropy. He'd went as far as even asking Sirius and James for advice, but the only solution they could give was to just say it without giving it any thought, and Remus wasn't going to drop a bombshell that huge on Liz and lose not only the possibility of a relationship with her, but their friendship as well. Unfortunately for Remus, the first full moon of the school year was fast approaching, and Remus decided it would be best to wait until after the full moon to tell her.

The morning they were to depart down to the Shrieking Shack, the Marauders made it to the Great Hall in great spirits. James and Sirius were talking about the Quidditch scores in the Daily Prophet with Peter trying to get a word in on his favorite team. Remus followed in silence, glancing at the Hufflepuff table, seeing Liz and Cassie laughing at something one of them must have said before sitting at his own table. Throughout breakfast Remus let his mind wander from his friends plotting their next prank to Liz. What would she do when she found out? Would she run in fright and never want to be around him, or would she accept him like his friends had? And if she did accept it, what would happen between them?

"Oi, Remus!" Sirius's voice came into Remus's thought as he shook his as he looked back at his friends.

"What?" he asked casually.

"You've been zoned out for the past five minutes, looking at the Hufflepuff table," James said.

"Have I?" Remus looked surprised. "I…I didn't realize."

"Oh look, Prongs," Sirius said in a mock tearful voice. "Moony's in love, he's growing up so fast!" He pretended to weep and put a hand over his heart while James and Peter laughed. Remus glared at Sirius before smiling slightly.

"Shut it, Sirius," Remus muttered, turning slightly red in the face. Peter and Sirius laughed, but before he could say anything else, he heard James call out, "Hey! Evans!"

"You know, if you called her 'Lily' she may actually speak to you," Remus ventured as she past James and ignored him completely. James sighed and slumped his shoulders. Remus glanced back to the Hufflepuff table and noticed Liz and Cassie leaving. He stood up himself and grabbed his books, causing his friends to look up.

"Where are you going?" James said, still looking put out from Lily's rejection.

"I got to tell Liz-"

"That you have a furry little problem?" Sirius guessed, trying to cheer James up.

"No…that I can't patrol due to my furry little problem. I'll see you in class."

"Wait, what do you think about this prank? You think we can pull it off?"

"Do you want to be expelled?" Remus asked.

"Come on, introducing Snape to a giant human-sized plant that likes the taste of blood will not get me expelled."

Remus rolled his eyes before walking away. The Marauders called out a collective goodbye, and Remus headed out of the Great Hall, catching up with Liz and her friends at the top of the first staircase. "Liz!"

She turned around when he called her name, as did Cassie and Rose. "Hey," she said giving a bright smile.

"Hey," he said, "Listen, I can't patrol tonight…and I was wondering if Rose could take my spot?"

Liz looked up at Rose, who shrugged and looked back at Remus. "How come you can't patrol?" Liz asked. "Is everything alright?"

Remus looked at her with a sad expression. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't have a choice. He looked up at his sister hoping she would help cover for him like she'd always done. "Our mum is not doing all that great," he lied smoothly. "Dumbledore's gave me permission to go home for the week and take care of her."

"Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly, looking between Cassie and Remus.

"Yeah, it's nothing too bad,' Remus said, the guilt from lying to Liz beating at his chest. "Right, Cassie?"

Liz looked up at her best friends, who looked at Remus quickly before looking at Liz. "Everything's fine, Liz, don't worry. Dumbledore won't allow both of us to leave at the same time, is all." She gave an encouraging smile and looked between her friends and her brother. "Can I talk to Remus alone for a second? I'll meet you in class."

They looked at each other before nodding. Liz smiled at Remus and said a soft, "Bye," before Rose grabbed her by her robes and began pulling her up the stairs. Cassie waited until they were out of earshot before rounding on her brother. "Are you out of your mind?" she asked incredulously.

"What?" Remus said slightly perplexed.

"You're thinking about telling her, aren't you?" she said in a dangerously low voice. "You're going to tell her about your condition!"

"How do you know this?" Remus said curiously.

"I'm your sister, I see these things," Cassie said shortly. "Isn't it bad enough that you've told three people? Not to mention Snape knows thanks to his on-going hatred with James and Sirius. I would think you would want to keep this from people!" She had a tint of jealousy in her voice as she glared up at her brother. "Why do you want to tell her now, when you barely know her?"

"We're friends," Remus tried in a defense. Cassie scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Liz and  _I_  are friends," she said. "I've known her for the past five years, and you've just started talking to her as a result to being prefect partners!"

"That's not true!" Remus said defensively.

"Then why do you want to trust her with a secret this big?" Cassie retorted.

"Why do you care all of a sudden who I tell?" Remus said slightly aggrivated. One thing Remus hated more than anything was fighting with Cassie, and he knew she was the same way. But he finally figured that Cassie had a reason to not wanting Liz to know, and she was right. She'd known her five years, and he'd barely known her a month. Cassie had known about his secret all of her life, and felt it was one of the things that made her closer with her brother.

"I just don't understand why you want to tell her so bad," Cassie said. "It's not like you to tell others unless you can trust them, or if…" she trailed off, looked at Remus with a suspicious look.

"Or what?" Remus asked her.

"Nothing," she said shortly. "Just, nothing. I have to get to class."

"Cassie," he started, but she turned and headed up the stairs, leaving Remus standing alone and feeling more confused about the situation than before.

* * *

Two nights later, Liz and Rose were doing their last night of patrol for the week. For the first time in a couple of weeks, the patrols were uneventful, which allowed the two friends to gossip and have discussions without interruption. Halfway throughout the shift, their ongoing conversation finally made it to Remus's absence.

"Do you really think Remus is home with their mum?" Rose said as they made their way down the fourth floor corridor.

"Well, yeah," Liz said. "I mean, Cassie even said that she was sick, and she wouldn't lie about that."

"But don't you think it's a bit…odd, that Cassie hadn't breathed a word about their mum until Remus mentioned it?" Rose pressed further.

"Maybe she didn't want to talk about it," Liz said. "I mean, if one of my parents were sick, I wouldn't go around broadcasting it to the world."

"I guess," Rose muttered, still looking uncertain about it. Liz finally sighed and looked at Rose.

"Okay, Rose, what is this all about? You hardly ever doubt something Cassie says. Me, all the time-which I deserve-but Cassie? What's going on?"

"Well, Severus and I were talking-"

"You mean the two of you actually utter words other that "Hi" and "Bye" to each other?"

"Shut up," Rose said. "Anyway, the topic somehow got to the Marauders and…he let a few things slip."

"Such as?" Liz said.

"He said something about Black almost getting him killed last year after that huge fight after O.W.L.s. He also said something about Potter saving him from Remus."

"From Remus?" Liz said in confusion. "But Remus has never done anything like that-we'd know from Cassie, or Remus would have told me."

"I tried to get him to explain," Rose said as they made it up to the next floor. "But he wouldn't speak of it anymore except to say there were certain things many people didn't know about Remus Lupin."

"Why are you telling me this?" Liz demanded. "And why is Snape all of a sudden trying to take what Sirius and James did to him on Remus?"

"I don't know about Severus," Rose answered. "But I'm telling you because you're like my sister, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt. And you know how I don't believe anything that comes out of Snape's mouth. No offense, but I don't."

"Just promise you won't let yourself get hurt."

Liz sighed and nodded. "Promise."

The conversation turned to Cassie and her mystery crush, and the two began to joke about who the person could be.

"Which house do you think he's from?" Liz asked.

"Well, I really don't think he's a Slytherin," Rose said.

"And I think we can safely rule out Ravenclaw," Liz continued. "So that leaves our house and Gryffindor."

"I bet its Amos Diggory," Rose said. "After all, he's a seventh year this term."

"Too old," Liz said. "I say he's either in our year or sixth year."

"Frank Longbottom."

"Ugh, nobody's that desperate," Liz said, making a face. "Just like nobody wants to date Peter Pettigrew."

"I don't know, that blonde Ravenclaw seems to be spending a lot of time with him," Rose muttered.

"How do you know?" Liz asked curiously.

"Because Severus and I had to run them out of a broom closet last week." The two looked at each other and started laughing.

Finally after they'd calmed down, Liz came to her own conclusion. "Wait, it may not be Peter, but it may be another Marauder."

"Who?"

"Sirius."

The two looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," they chorused.

"Okay, bad decision," Liz muttered.

"Well, I don't know," Rose said as she thought about it. "He's Remus's best friend, he seemed to be around when we saw Cassie over the summer…"

"The idea was crazy," Liz said. "Besides we know that Remus and Sirius were helping her with her animagus."

Rose shrugged. "I'm sure whoever it is, I'm sure that Cassie will tell us when she's ready to."

They finished their patrol and made it back down the stairs. They made it down to the corridor that contained the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room when they heard two people talking. The two prefects stopped short of entering the corridor and peaked around seeing who the two culprits that were out of hours were. Of course, as soon as they did, they wished they hadn't.

Because the last thing they expected to see was Cassie Lupin in the middle of a deep kiss with Sirius Black.

Rose stepped toward the couple, opening her mouth to yell at the two. Liz put her hand over Rose's mouth and pulled her back in case they'd been heard, but Sirius only held Cassie closer to him as he continued to kiss her. Rose bit her hand and was getting ready to shout when Liz quickly whipped her wand out and whispered, " _Silencio_!"

Rose glared at her and began to struggle against her best friend. Liz pulled her back into the connecting corridor as the two broke and saw Sirius whisper goodnight before heading the opposite way, Cassie watching him go before she entered the Hufflepuff's common room. Liz waited until the portrait closed before releasing the silencing charm off of Rose.

"When I get my hands on that cocky Gryffindor, I'm going to-"

"Rose, calm down!" Liz whispered urgently. She didn't want to grab the attention to anybody who may be nearby, especially a certain Poltergeist that liked to air everybody's laundry. "Cassie can't know that we know about this! She's obviously keeping this from us for a reason, let her tell us on her own terms!"

"How am I supposed to go on acting like nothing's wrong when she's dating that idiot?" Rose said getting upset. "I can't hide something like this!"

"We're going to have to try," Liz said finally. "We're just…going to have to try."

* * *

Pretending to not know about Cassie secretly dating Sirius behind everybody's back turned out to be easier than Liz and Rose thought. As the next month went by, the amount of patrol duties and the homework from their classes kept them plenty enough busy to keep the secret off their minds. OWL year made their previous years look easy and simple. Remus had decided to take his sister's word's at heart and wait to tell Liz until he could get his thoughts about her (and his emotions) straight. The Lupin siblings seemed to be keeping their secrets like they wanted.

But the truth always has to come out eventually.

It was the second week in November, and Liz was sitting in the courtyard with her Charms book, waiting for Cassie and Rose to join her. It was late Friday, and even though it was the weekend, Liz was behind on homework due to double patrol duties, and needed to get caught up. While the Wizarding World was in the midst of war with You-Know-Who, Dumbeldore thought it was best to keep the castle well protected. Liz wasn't exactly sure what a pair of students would be able to do against any Death Eater that decided to attack Hogwarts, but she wasn't going to question the Headmaster's rules.

She was sitting on the stone seat, legs crossed and engrossed into her book when a shadow fell over her. She looked up seeing Severus Snape, the last person she ever thought would come up to her and even speak.

"What do you want, Snape?" she asked briskly, looking back down at her book. "If you're looking for Rose, I don't know where she is."

"It's not Rosalina who I wanted to speak to," he replied in his usual tone.

"Then why are you talking to me?" Liz looked up and gave him a hard look.

"I wanted to ask you if you're oblivious to life."

"Excuse me?" Liz closed her book and stood up. "What does that mean?"

"I think you know," he sneered.

"Okay, Snape…Rose may be able to interpret that warped brain of yours, but I'd rather not play riddle games with you," Liz said angrily, brushing past him.

"It's about Lupin."

Liz rolled her eyes and turned around. "You do realize that there are two Lupins at this school? You're going to have to be a bit more specific."

Snape glared at her. "The Gryffindor," he spat.

"What about him?"

"He's a werewolf."

Liz looked at Snape with an odd look before laughing at him. "Yeah, right," she chortled. "And I'm secretly a mermaid when I approach water. The next time you decide to spread rumors like a little girl, I suggest you have at least a believable story." She rolled her eyes and started walking away before he spoke up again.

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed certain…signs," he called. "Always absent after a full moon, sick and weak a few days afterwards. Any other person would make a connection between the two. Either you're too blind to see it, or you're pretending not to notice."

Liz stopped dead in her tricks, and she could feel Snape's smirk of victory over beating down on the back of her neck. The wheels in her mind began to turn, thinking about what Snape said. Remus always made an excuse to not be around during the full moon, that was true, but Cassie had always confirmed what he said to her, assuring her everything was okay. If was true, why had Cassie lied to her as well? Had Remus asked her to? That was the most obvious reason-after all, they were brother and sister and would do almost anything for each other. And Remus seemed to always be weak and slightly sick after he was gone…she'd just never realized until now. Was it true?

"Liz!"

She looked up, seeing Rose and Cassie coming toward her. She turned back to see if Snape was still lurking about, but he'd vanished. Her two best friends finally reached her and looked at her worriedly.

"Liz, what's wrong?" Rose looked concerned. "You're white as a ghost!"

"What happened?" Cassie asked. Liz didn't know what to do, how to respond. All she could think was the possibility of Remus being a werewolf.

"Is it true?" Liz choked out, her voice cracking as she looked at Cassie in disbelief.

"Is what true?" she responded in confusion. "Liz, you're starting to freak me out."

"Remus. Is he a werewolf?"

"What?" Rose said, looking between Liz and Cassie. "Where did you hear something like that?"

"Did he tell you?" Cassie asked quietly, looking at Liz in shock.

"No, that greasy git Rose associates with told me!" Liz felt the rest of the color in her face drain completely. "So it's true! He is!"

"Liz, you don't understand," Cassie said quickly. "You…you weren't supposed to find out this way."

Liz clutched the book in her hand to her chest and turned away from Cassie and Rose, heading for the school in a quick pace, ignoring their pleas for her to stop. She knew they were following her and quickened her steps as she ran up the stairs that led to the entrance hall, her vision partially blurred from her tears. She stopped dead however when she heard Remus call out her name. Liz looked up, seeing him halfway up the stairs coming down with Sirius and James. He saw her current state, the tears that were in her eyes and left his friends and rushed down to her.

"Liz, what's wrong?" he said in concern. "Are you okay?"

Liz didn't respond, but just looked up at him feeling so many different emotions she couldn't tell them apart. When she didn't respond, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder, still giving her a worried look. She flinched involuntarily away from him and backed away from him. Liz looked around, Cassie and Rose now caught up with her looking at her in the same way that Remus was. She pushed her way past Remus and, ignoring his pleas, ran up the stairs and out of sight, her heart feeling heavier with each step she took as the realization of what Snape said was actually true.


	5. Explaination

 

Remus stared up the staircase as Liz disappeared, feeling a cloud of confusion fill his mind. What was going on? He'd never seen her that distraught, and what was with her sudden jumpiness when somebody touched her? He looked around him, seeing Cassie and Rose looking up the stairs with a similar expression, only Cassie's was more troubled. She finally caught her brother's eyes and walked over to him.

"Cassie, what's going on?" Remus asked. "What's wrong with Liz?"

Cassie sighed and looked at her brother guiltily. "She knows."

Remus looked at Cassie for a moment until he fully understood what she was talking about. His heart seemed to stop at those two words sunk in, realizing that Liz knew his secret. "W-what?" he stammered out. "What do you mean, she knows?"

"Liz knows about your secret," Cassie said simply.

"But,  _how_?" Remus said. "Who told her?"

"Snape," she muttered angrily, glancing back at Rose. The Slytherin girl face flushed pink before muttering something about going to dinner and leaving the two siblings alone.

"That arrogant…I'm going to…" Remus sighed angrily, running a hand through his hair. "Did this just happen?"

"It must have," Cassie said. "I'm sorry, Remus."

Remus looked at Cassie in confusion. "It wasn't your fault, Cassie."

"I'm the one who basically confirmed that what Snape said was true," she said guiltily. "I don't think she believed Snape…and I thought that maybe you had told her when she asked me."

"I've been holding back from telling her about it." Remus turned away from Cassie and sat on the bottom stair of the entrance hall and gripped his hair tight. "I've told Sirius and James that something like this would happen with him knowing."

Cassie stood in front of her brother with her arms crossed, but gave him a look of sympathy rather than annoyance. "There's nothing else you can do now, Remus. She knows now, so don't beat yourself up because of that bat's attempt at revenge."

"You don't understand, Cassie," Remus said with a saddened expression on his face. "I…I really like Liz. But now I'll never know how she feels. She'll probably never want to see me again."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Cassie said. "Just give her a few days. I'm sure she'll come around."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It may have something to do with the fact that I'm her best friend."

Remus couldn't help but crack a small smile. Count on Cassie to be the optimistic one of the pair. "Thanks, Cassie," he muttered, standing up "I'll see you later. Tell James and Sirius to sneak something from the table for me, will you?"

Cassie nodded and turned from her brother before heading into the Great Hall. Remus sighed and headed back up the stairs for Gryffindor Tower, really needing to be alone.

* * *

Liz was missing for the rest of the evening and the next day. Remus was almost crazy with worry. He'd searched the castle and grounds twice, and even resulted to using the Marauder's Map to find her, but had no luck. The only solution he could come up was that she'd locked herself in the Room of Requirements, which wouldn't show up on the map.

By the second day, Remus was on the edge. And nothing James and Sirius said to him made him feel any better.

"Just let her come to you," James suggested.

"Like you let Lily?" Sirius shot back.

"This isn't about my love life, Padfoot, this is about Moony's."

"I just need to explain," Remus said as he searched the Marauder's Map for what felt like the tenth time in the past hour.

Sirius crossed their bedroom and took the map from Remus's bed. "Mate, give her time. It's a tough pill to swallow."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Remus asked angrily as he lunged for the map.

"It means," James said, giving the map to Peter who had just entered the room and told him to run, "as a girl, it takes them longer to accept these things."

"What James is trying to say," Sirius said as he smacked James in the head, "is that while we had come to the conclusion of your furry little secret and accepted you, Liz is just finding out with no warning. She's probably not talking to Cassie, who is supposed to be her best friend and tells her everything. All we're saying is, give her a couple of days, not 24 hours, to take it in, and for her and Cassie to have their own shouting match, because you know it's bound to happen."

James and Remus both stared at Sirius, not expecting him to say any of that.

"What?" Sirius said. "I do have a sensitive side, you know."

"Right." James stripped his tie from his neck, and tossed it onto his bed as he passed it. "I'm going to go find Peter and get the map back. Then I'm going to convince Evans to go with me to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"If you call her 'Lily' for a change, she might say yes!" Sirius called. Remus couldn't help but laugh. Sirius turned back to Remus and gave an encouraging smile. "Give her time, Remus. Things will be back to normal before you know it."

Remus sighed as Sirius also left the dorm, giving him some quiet time to mull over his thoughts.

* * *

Remus didn't try to search for Liz (at least not directly) for the remainder of the weekend. By Monday, he thought he would have at least ran into her once in the halls between classes. He had expected to see her with Cassie since they had the same classes, but each time he saw his sister, she was alone or with Rose. She would give a quick hello or goodbye, but they never had time to hold a conversation.

It was an hour before dinnertime, the the Gryffindor boys were on their way to Gryffindor Tower to drop their bags off. Remus, however, said goodbye to his friends at the portrait of the Fat Lady and headed to the entrance of the Astronomy Tower. He quietly headed up the stairs, following a random gut instinct as he quietly opened the door, sighing in relief at the sight of Liz. She was standing up next to the battlements of the tower, between two of the telescope stands. She hadn't even heard him come in as she leaned on the stone ledge and sighed heavily, her shoulders slumped and from what he could see, her face held a sad expression. Finally, he stepped closer to her and said softly, "Liz?"

She froze and looked at him like a deer caught in headlights. "I've been looking everywhere for you," he said walking up to her. "I've been worried."

She gave a small smile and turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just needed to be alone," she replied thickly.

Remus looked at her in concern, and stepped closer to her, noticing the dark circles around her eyes. By the way she had answered, he had a feeling she'd been crying. "Are you alright?"

She took a small step back from him and hugged herself tighter. "I'm fine. I just have to go." She moved to go past him, but he didn't move out of her way. He was confused, thinking about how close they've gotten over the past few months, and for a moment had forgotten the past few days.

"Liz, I know something is wrong, and if you'll just talk to me about it, I'll help!" he said pleadingly.

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide. "Remus, please," she whispered, "I'm fine, okay? I just-" she sighed in frustration, bowed her head, and walked back to the edge of the tower.

Remus followed her, but gave her some space. "You are not fine, you-" he stopped suddenly, realizing that she still hadn't gotten over what happened over the past couple of days. He sighed and walked over to the edge of the turret himself, gripping at the stone until his knuckles were white. "I'm sorry, Liz."

Liz looked up at him with a softened expression than before and moved slightly closer to him. "That's not the whole reason I've been avoiding you," she said quietly. Remus looked up at her and she looked out toward the grounds before speaking again. "I've been confused. I didn't know what to do, or say to anybody, especially you. I thought if I just stayed away long enough, it would just go back to normal. Like it was a dream. Or a nightmare."

Remus looked away, remembering the time when he'd felt the same way, and when he realized life just didn't work like that. It seemed Cassie had been the same way, until their parents explained the situation. "Liz, I wish I could tell you it worked that way. But, for now…" he sighed, looking down sadly and not meeting her gaze, "if you want to stay away from me, I understand."

She looked up at him suddenly, and he could see her shocked expression out of the corner of his eye. "Do you want me to?" she asked in a small voice.

He looked at her wide eyed and shook his head. "No! No, never!" he said quickly. "I just thought you were afraid of me… _are_  afraid of me." He looked away again, dreading the answer.

Liz looked down and closed her eyes for a few moments before looking back at him. "I am, in a way afraid of you Remus, and I don't want to be. I've grown up in believing all werewolves are dangerous and evil, but I know better when it comes to you." She managed a little smile. "I don't want to cut you from my life, not after the past few months."

Remus felt a weird sense of relief at the last part, but needed to address her first comment. "Liz, you know I would be lying if I said I wasn't dangerous. I can be very dangerous. But, I'm also very careful, and I would never hurt you. And Professor Dumbledore said that there was a potions master who was on a breakthrough with a potion that would allow me to keep my mind during my transformations." He finally looked at her, thinking that he went against everything he'd originally had been determined to do. He wanted for her to understand why he hadn't told her and hope for the best between them, but now he just wanted her to still be a part of his life. A part of his future.

She finally looked back at him, her eyes no longer showing the anxiety and fear they'd had when he found her. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "About the past few days."

"It's okay," Remus replied, giving her a small smile. "I know it's a big secret to keep, and sometimes it'll be difficult. But Cassie has never slipped up, and neither have my friends. And I get the feeling you won't either."

Liz looked at Remus with an awed expression before giving a small smile herself. "You can trust me."

"I know," Remus spoke with confidence, looking up at her. She looked back at him and smiled, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. It was like he couldn't tear his gaze from her, like she'd disappear if he blinked. He wasn't even aware he was slowly moving closer to her until she spoke up.

"So you're not angry over the past few days?" she asked timidly.

He snapped out of his gaze and looked at her confused. "What? What could you have possibly done?" he asked softly.

"The way I've been acting towards you. The way I've ignored you."

"Anyone would have," Remus said, getting caught in her gaze again. "I'd never be mad at you for that."

"I was a little over dramatic," she muttered, her cheeks turning pink. "I know Cassie told me a couple of times. Yelled it, actually." She looked back at him and smiled slightly.

Remus laughed softly, still looking at her. "Sounds like my sister," he replied. She looked up at him and finally gave a true smile. Remus felt a smile break out on his own face, his feeling about Liz clearer than ever.

"So," Liz started awkwardly, trying to break the silence. "What happens now?"

Remus didn't answer her. Instead, he closed the gap between them and placed his hands on her shoulders before pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers gently, but passionately, for the first time realizing how much he'd always wanted to. She tensed up at first, but finally relaxed and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Realizing what he'd just done, Remus pulled away, breathing heavily as he reluctantly let her go. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes wide. "I don't know what caused me to do that."

She looked up at him, breathing as heavy as he was, a glassy look in her eyes. "Well, I'm not complaining," she grinned, giving him an encouraging smile before timidly taking his hand in her. "Really."

He gave her a shy smile before squeezing her hand gently. "There's something I've wanted to ask you, Liz, but now I'm not so sure," he said quietly.

Liz gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. "You can ask me anything."

"Will you…will you go out with me?" he asked quickly. He shook his head and felt his face grow hot. "I wanted to think of a better way to say that, but I've ended up with no time for rehearsal."

She couldn't help but smile. "Of course I'll go out with you."

"Just, please realize, it's not going to be easy."

Liz looked back up at him and took a step back, a dazed look still on her face. "I know," she said quietly. "But I'm willing to make it work."

Remus nodded and looked at her with a serious expression. "I want you to promise me something, Liz."

"What?"

Remus sighed and took her by the hand and led her to one of the benches. As they sat down, he looked her in the eyes. "I want to be with you badly enough to be stupid and selfish. That means, if something bad happens, if you're around me and I change, you have to leave me behind, and get yourself out. Understand?"

"I can't promise that, Remus," she whispered. "I don't want anything to happen to you, and if I can help, I'm going to make sure you're okay."

Remus sighed, figuring she'd say something like that. He took both of her hands into his and looked at her pleadingly. "Please, Elizabeth."

Liz looked back at him with a surprised look, and Remus realized it was the first time he'd ever used her actual name. He must have hit a nerve by doing so, for she let out a sigh of resignation. "I promise," she mumbled.

Remus smiled and squeezed her hands gently. "Thank you."

She nodded and hugged him timidly. He almost tensed up when she wrapped her arms around him, but relaxed and hugged her back. He sighed and just held her for a few minutes, surprised at how things had went so differently than he had expected them to. Finally, he smiled a true genuine smile. Things were finally looking up.

"So, the way you found out..."

"I know I shouldn't have believed him," Liz said. "I figured he was just trying to anger me."

"While it wasn't the way I preferred you to find out, I have to thank him. What do you say we do it, Marauders style?"

Liz grinned at him. "You know we'll have to include Cassie. She'd hate to miss a chance to terrorize that git."

"What about Rose?"

She shrugged. "She'll survive. Maybe."

Remus laughed and stood up, pulling Liz with him. "So, I was think we should do this..."

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, the Great Hall was interrupted when a loud scream rose from the Slytherin table and Severus Snape, his hair and robes a shocking pink, bolted from the table.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of Peter Pettigrew in this story. I just find it extremely hard to write for him (I think my fingers resent him for what happened to Lily and James). The entire end of the chapter is new from the original, and my write-up of how the prank just didn't flow correctly with the story and thought a little summary of what happened worked a little better.


	6. Fights

"You know they'll never stop picking on us. Especially your friends…I know how they are."

"You mean James and Sirius? I'd never expected anything less."

Liz looked at Remus and smiled. They were sitting at the top of the Astronomy Tower again. They had decided not to arrive at breakfast that morning to keep suspicions low on their prank. Instead, Liz had grabbed several pieces of toast and scones from the kitchens and made her way up to the seventh floor, so she and Remus could continue their conversation from the night before.

"This is all new to me," Liz said. "I feel like I don't know what to do."

"We be ourselves front of everybody, but like this." Remus took her hand and linked hands. "We're still the same people we were before. Let's just see what happens."

"I think we should probably join the outside world," she said. "Everybody probably thinks I ran away or something."

Remus sighed and nodded slightly. "They do. Considering you haven't really been seen by anybody except me and Cassie."

Liz groaned and buried her head into Remus's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she mumbled again.

Remus smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. I'm sure they understand. Or they will soon. But you probably shouldn't miss a second day of classes."

"You're not going to lecture me, are you? Cassie covered it last night."

"Not today. But promise you'll let me help if you start getting behind on OWL content. I've gone through it, after all."

"Deal." She agreed before finally standing up and pulling Remus to his feet as well. He smiled and linked his hand with hers before allowing her to lead him down the stairs. They made it down to the corridor that led to the staircases when they head a voice call behind them.

"Hey, Moony! Liz!" James' voice rang out to them. They turned around seeing Sirius following a few paces behind his best friend, both wearing identical grins.

"What's going on, Moony?" Sirius asked, gesturing to the hands being entwined.

"Well, as I stated last night" Remus began, squeezing Liz's hand gently, "Liz and I are together."

James whistled and laughed quietly before starting to sing, "Liz and Remus, sitting in a tree…"

"…K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes puppy in the baby carriage." Sirius finished, both he and James howling with laughter. Liz turned beet red in the face and even Remus let out a little chuckled.

"Okay you guys, that's enough," Remus said, finally seeing Liz's embarrassed face.

"Aw, come on, Moony, we were just having fun!" James said, still wearing a broad grin.

"You should have know we would do this," Sirius added. "It's our duty as your best friends to torture you and Liz to the best of our abilities."

"So I've noticed," Liz muttered, giving a small smile. "Now, onto pressing matters. Did the prank work?'

"Like a charm," James grinned.

"Well, of course it was a charm, you prat."

James ignored Sirius and continued. "Peter saw the whole thing. Snivillus screeched like he sat in tub full of flobberworms and bolted from the Hall looking like Madam Puddifoot's on Valentine's Day!"

The four of them laugh and continued down to the first floor, figuring it was safe enough to enter and not be suspected of the prank.

"Have either of you seen Cassie?" Remus asked. "She needs to be informed that it was successful."

At the mention of Cassie, Sirius turned beet red and looked away from everybody. Liz seemed to be the only one to notice, however, and eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah, she was looking for you two, actually, something about Rose demanding answers," James said.

Liz groaned and ran her hand over her face. "Great."

"Where is she?" Remus inquired. Liz looked back up, seeing Sirius shuffle his feet.

"She was heading for the Great Hall," James said.

"Thanks," Remus said. "That's where you two are heading right?"

"Actually we were going to drop by the kitchens. Keep things a little more inconspicuous, you know."

"Wow, James, I wasn't aware you knew such a big word," Remus chortled. "Lily would be impressed."

"You think so? Maybe I should pop by the Great Hall instead and try it out -"

"Go to the kitchens, prat. We'll see you at lunch, yeah?"

Sirius was the first to respond. He nodded and said a quick, "Later," before awkwardly walking away.

"Have fun, Moony," James said, winking at Liz and Remus before heading in the same direction as Sirius had went.

Liz shook her head as the two Marauders left. "It's going to be like that all the time, isn't it?" she said, still pink in the face.

"Most likely," Remus said smiling. "Come on." He began to lead her down the staircase and towards the Great Hall. On the second floor staircase, he spoke again. "Was it just me, or did Sirius seem a little off?"

"Yeah," Liz said. "Everything Cassie's name was mentioned, he got jumpy."

"Do you think Sirius _likes_ her?" Remus asked.

"I think he does," Liz muttered, not meeting his gaze. It was obvious Sirius hadn't told his friends about dating Cassie either. She had a bad feeling that when it came out in the open about their relationship, Remus and Sirius would have to be separated for a few weeks.

Remus slowed down and stopped before descending to the ground floor. Liz looked at Remus in concern. "Remus? Are you okay?"

"I feel really stupid right now," he muttered.

"Why?"

"How could I not see it?" Remus asked. "Sirius and my sister?"

"You're not going to physically bash Sirius's head in, are you?"

"Of course not," Remus said, a troubled look on his face. "It just bothers me that neither of them thought they could come to me about it…it's obvious Cassie probably feels the same." He looked down at her. "Am I a bad brother?"

"No, you're not a bad brother!" Liz said, squeezing his hand comfortingly. "They were probably just worried. Think about it, Sirius would probably think you would kill him if he told you, and Cassie…she probably thinks you'd kill Sirius if he rejected her or something. But it doesn't make you a bad brother. Just protective."

Remus sighed and nodded before hanging his head as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Maybe I should talk to Sirius or Cassie."

"Everything's okay, Remus, I'm sure it is."

"I see my sister's optimism is starting to rub off on you."

"That's not a bad thing, is it?"

He smiled at her and shook his head. "Of course not." His hand sought out hers, linking together. Liz saw Cassie, walking away from them and called out to her best friend. "Cassie!"

Cassie turned around slowly, looking at Liz and Remus with a timid glance. "Hey," she said awkwardly.

Liz let go of Remus's hand and made her way to the other Hufflepuff. "James and Sirius said you were looking for us."

Cassie looked at her with interest. "You ran into them already? Did it work?"

"Like a charm."

"It _was_ a charm, you prat."

"Why does everybody keep saying that?" Remus mumbled with a shake of his head.

Cassie looked at the them and cracked a smile, crossing her arms. "So are you ready to let the world know?" she asked as Liz took Remus's hand again. "Not that the whole school didn't see it coming."

Remus squeezed her hand, causing Liz to look up at him momentarily. Liz looked back down at Cassie in confusion. "What does that mean?"

Cassie sighed and shook her head at Liz, still smiling. "It means…you're _supposed_ to be together, all right? Romeo and Juliet, Han Solo and…Lee…La…L-something. Remus and Liz."

"Speaking of relationships," Remus said suddenly, looking at Cassie with a hard look.

Cassie looked from Liz to Remus in confusion. "What's he talking about, Liz?" she asked.

"Well," Liz started, "we were wondering if-"

"Do you like Sirius?" Remus blurted out.

Cassie looked at her brother with a horrified expression. "What?"

Liz looked at Remus surprised and kept silent. If either sibling knew that she knew about Sirius and Cassie, she'd loose them both. Cassie turned slightly red and averted her gaze from both Remus and Liz. "I have somewhere to be," she muttered before moving past Liz and Remus and out to the Entrance Hall.

"Cassie!" Remus called, but she didn't respond. He sighed in aggravation and muttered, "I'm going to kill Sirius."

"Remus!" Liz said in shock.

Remus looked down at her. "What?"

"You are _not_ going to kill your best friend!"

"Well, not really, but…"

"Do you want me to go talk to her?" Liz asked.

"Yes," Remus responded quickly.

"And you're _not_ going to kill Sirius in the process?"

No answer.

"Remus…"

"No promises," he said shortly.

Liz sighed and shook her head. "Don't do anything that will get you thrown in detention. Or have your prefect badge taken away, okay?"

Remus shrugged. "Maybe."

Liz looked at him pleadingly. " _Please_?"

"Just please talk to her, Liz. I'm not going to do anything," he said, giving her an assuring smile.

"I'll find you later," she said before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. She turned from him to walk away, only for Remus to pull her back and kiss her on the lips. Her eyes widened for a brief moment of surprise, but finally gave in and kissed him back, forgetting the fact they were in the Great Hall.

Remus let the kiss go on for a few more seconds before pulling away and smiling down at her. "I'll see you later."

Liz smiled at Remus, her mind in a slight daze as she made her way back into the Entrance Hall, where Cassie stood by the giant hourglasses. Liz walked up to her, which Cassie saw in the reflection of the glass. She turned to face Liz and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Guess you know why I'm here," Liz muttered, sticking her hands in the pockets of her robes.

"About Sirius?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Do you? Like Sirius?"

Cassie looked back up at the Hufflepuff hourglass, not meeting her eyes. "Maybe."

Liz sighed, knowing that she couldn't continue this conversation without telling Cassie the truth. "Or maybe the truth is that you love Sirius," she said quietly.

Cassie gave Liz an odd look. "What are you trying to say, Liz?"

Liz looked at Cassie with a guilty look again. "I know you and Sirius are together, Cassie. Rose too."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cassie said quickly.

"Cassie, we saw the two of you attached at the lips front of the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room!" Liz whispered, looking at her best friend wide-eyed. "Why didn't you tell us? And how long has this been going on?"

Cassie looked at Liz with a surprised look. It was usually Cassie interrogating for information, never the other way around. "Since the summer, Sirius would help me with my animagus while Remus was recovering, and it just went from there," she whispered back, looking at Liz worriedly. "Why didn't you bring this up before?" she asked.

"We figured you were waiting for the right moment." Liz shrugged her shoulders. "I wasn't going to just demand answers about it."

Cassie shot her a grateful smile of understanding. "I didn't keep it from you and Rose on purpose. I just didn't want things to be weird between our friendship."

"And me dating your brother _isn't_ weird?"

"Of course it is…to me," Cassie said, pretending to cringe.

Liz couldn't help but give a shy smile. "I _really_ like your brother, Cassie," she said.

"I know you do. Gross."

Liz smirked and pushed Cassie slightly. "You'll get over it, I'm sure."

"After I've thrown up the entire contents of my stomach."

The two hugged, and Liz let out a sigh. At least they had gotten that out of the way. "James and Sirius had said that Rose was on edge. Where is she, anyway?"

Before Cassie could reply, she heard Rose call out behind her. "Liz! Cassie!"

They both turned, seeing Rose coming from the direction of the dungeons. Unfortunately, Snape was right on her heels, his robes and hair back to normal. The smiles on Cassie and Liz's faces soon fell. Liz glanced at Cassie, who gave a massive eye roll at the sight of the older Slytherin. As Rose approached, Liz managed to gave a small smile to her best friend. "Hey, Rose."

Rose stopped and muttered something to Snape, who glared at the two Hufflepuffs before saying a quick goodbye to Rose before going into the Great Hall. He waited until Rose turned from him before giving Cassie and Liz a smug, satisfied look, which Liz took as he was still gloating about revealing Remus's secret.

Rose moved closer to Liz, give her a scowling look. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you! And then I had to unjinx Severus, who had shown up in the common room bright pink!"

Liz looked at Cassie, who looked away, trying not to laugh at the thought of Severus Snape in all pink. "I needed to figure out a few things after the other day."

"Are you alright now? Has Remus-" she said his name in disgust, which automatically bothered Liz, "been bothering you?"

"Remus didn't do _anything_ to _anybody_ ," Cassie snapped angrily, scowling at Rose.

"So, hurting our best friend's feelings doesn't count?" Rose retorted.

"Remus hasn't done anything to me but ask me to be his girlfriend!" Liz said angrily and defensively. She felt hurt that Rose automatically assumed it was Remus to blame. "And I said _yes_!"

Rose looked at Liz in shock. "WHAT? You agreed to be with him? After what he's done to you?"

"What's he done to her?" Cassie said loudly, her voice rising in anger.

"Remus was trying to protect me!" Liz all but shouted. "It was that bastard of a Slytherin you've seemed to have chosen over us who started this!"

"Severus didn't do anything but tell you what Remus should have told you a long time ago!" At this point, a group was forming around the three friends, who paid no attention to those around them. "And you all are my best friends, I'm not choosing anyone over you!"

"It _wasn't_ _his_ secret to _tell_ ," Cassie snarled through gritted teeth.

Rose narrowed her eyes angrily. "Let's talk about _secrets_ , _Cassie_. Tell us, when was the last time you met _Sirius Black_ after curfew?"

Cassie gaped at her, her eyes wide. Even Liz wasn't expecting this. The crowd around them began to whisper as Cassie continued to stare at Rose in shock. Liz looked at Rose in disbelief and shook her head.

"That was low, Rosalina," she said, using Rose's first name to try and prove a point. "Even for you. None of this would have happened if _Snivillus_ had kept his mouth shut."

"He isn't like everyone else thinks he is, _Elizabeth_!" Rose yelled, tears in her eyes. "There are things about Severus that you don't understand!"

"Is there a problem, ladies?" came Professor McGonagall's voice into the conversation.

Cassie ignored McGonagall and walked up to Rose up to the point they were nose-to-nose. "Things that justify being a nosy, pretentious, rude, and selfish git?" she hissed angrily, her shoulders shaking and her eyes narrowed and looking at Rose with hurt and fury in her eyes. " _Those_ sorts of things?"

Liz pulled Cassie back with some difficulty from Rose, but couldn't help but to agree with her. "He had _no_ right telling me, Rose, and you know that," she said quietly. "It was Remus's place, not his."

Rose looked at the two Hufflepuffs, knowing she was outnumbered. "Fine," she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Think what you want. I just don't like people keeping things from my friends." She turned to walk away when Professor McGonagall grabbed her by the robe and pulled her back, looking at the three friends angrily.

"You three are causing a scene," she said sternly. "The entire Great Hall can hear you."

Liz looked up at Cassie, who crossed her arms and looked down at the floor with a scowl on her face. She shoved her hands into her robes again and shuffled her feet, avoiding everybody's gaze as the crowed dispersed. "Perhaps you can work this little quarrel you three are having in detention," McGonagall continued. "Tomorrow night. In my office."

"Yes, professor," Cassie said grudgingly.

Liz muttered a "Yes, professor," as did Rose, who turned and walked quickly back toward the dungeons. Cassie stood in the same spot before storming off to Hufflepuff Tower. Professor McGonagall looked down at Liz for a few seconds before also leaving and heading back into the Great Hall. Liz continued to stand in the same spot until someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Liz?" Remus said softly. "What happened?"

She turned around and looked at Remus, tears brimming her eyes. The guilt at yelling at Rose, the looming possibility that she could probably loose her two best friends began to pull on her heart as continued to stand in place. "Liz, what happened?" he asked again.

Shaking her head, Liz finally spoke. "I yelled at Rose. I was defending you, Cassie too. Professor McGonagall came in, saying we were causing a scene and gave us detention."

She heard Remus sigh, and knew he was starting to feel responsible. "What do you mean, defending me?" he asked softly.

Liz looked up at him, seeing his concerned eyes. "Rose doesn't like you right now. She feels like you _hurt_ me by not telling before Snape-" she spat his name venomously, "opened his mouth."

Remus looked at her with a worried expression before speaking quietly. "Did I?"

"No!" Liz said quickly. "I was _confused_ as to why you didn't tell me earlier, but I realized you probably had your reasons. But you never me!"

He hung his head, avoiding her eyes. "Are you _sure_ she isn't right?"

Liz sighed and placed a hand on his cheek, making him look at her. "I'm sure, Remus."

Remus nodded his head almost reluctantly. She wrapped her arms across her chest, trying not to let her emotions about the Marauderettes fight break her down, especially now. She didn't want to seem like a basket case after only a few hours of them being together, even though it felt like it had been weeks.

She was brought from her thoughts when Remus hugged her gently, trying to comfort her to the best of his ability. "Thank you," he whispered.

Liz nodded, her feelings about what happened finally being too much for her. She tried to choke back a sob as she buried her head in Remus's chest, her resolve finally breaking down. He pulled her closer to him and tried to help calm her down, whispering, "It's going to be okay. They're still your friends. The three of you will be back to normal in no time."

"Cassie's optimism is rubbing off on you."

"It's contagious." Remus smiled and kissed the top of her head.

There were many things Liz could handle. Being upset with her friends wasn't one of them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had forgotten that this chapter was supposed to take place right after Chapter 5. Whoops. So I fixed it to where it took place the following morning, which still worked out fairly well.


	7. Bruises and Breakdowns

The next day had sent Sirius into a constant state of paranoia. After hearing the students' whisper about his and Cassie's relationship, the Gryffindor had almost opted for sleeping in the blocked secret passageway behind the mirror on the fourth floor that the Marauders had discovered to keep from seeing Remus. Instead, he slept in the common room, leaving early before anybody was awake. He was certain that if the whole school knew (which he was still confused as to how), that Remus knew, and would be looking to make him an honorary member of the Headless Hunt.

He was in the blocked passageway early that morning waiting for Cassie when it suddenly opened. Sirius jumped slightly, almost expecting to see his best friend, but instead it was Cassie, and Sirius let out a sigh of relief. He stood up as the passage shut and gave her a bright smile. She finally looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and swollen from crying all night. The smile on Sirius' face fell as he quickly came to her.

"Cassie, what happened?" he asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him and slowly wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. Sirius hugged her tightly, starting to freak out a little. "Cassie, sweetheart," he said softly, using his pet name for her hoping it would get her to speak, "what's wrong?"

She shook her head and mumbled into his chest, "My entire life is falling apart."

Sirius rubbed her arms soothingly. "No, it's not, Cassie. Why do you think that?"

She pulled away from him, not looking up as tears welled up in her eyes. "Rose and I aren't speaking. I think Remus hates me. My best friend and my brother are dating, so I feel like they're closer to each other than to me right now. And to top it all off, the entire school knows we're together."

Sirius looked at her with a sympathetic glance before pulling her back into his arms and hugging her tightly. "Remus doesn't hate you, Cassie," he said softly. "Just because he and Liz are together doesn't mean he's going to cut you from his life."

Cassie nodded in his chest, not looking up as he continued. "As for the school knowing about us, I really could care less." She looked up at him wide-eyed. "I don't care what the school says behind our backs. They've done it for six years, after all. All I care about is right here, in my arms."

Cassie gave a slight smile, but still had a worried look in her eye. "What about Remus?"

Sirius sighed and looked down. "I don't know. I slept in the common room last night so I wouldn't run into him, then left before anybody woke up."

"I didn't see him after yesterday," Cassie mumbled.

"Yesterday? What happened yesterday?"

Cassie looked at him and sighed. She explained what had happened the morning before against her, Liz, and Rose. "…and that's when Rose yelled that she knew about us."

"But… _how_ did they know?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"The night you left to help Remus during the first full moon. They saw us saying goodbye."

"I don't understand," he muttered. "It was Snape who opened his mouth in the first place.  _How_ was it Remus's fault?"

Cassie shrugged. "I don't know. I don't understand how the fight went from defending Remus to me and you All I know is Rose probably hates both me and Liz right now."

"I don't think so," Sirius said.

"You weren't there, you didn't see how hurt she-"

"Everybody fights," he said softly. "Even me, James, Remus, and Peter. James and Remus are more like brothers to me than Regulus ever will be, especially James. I mean, his parents took me in this past summer. And even though we fight, we eventually forgive each other. I know you see Liz and Rose as sisters. Siblings fight, and you'll make up. You three love each other too much to be apart. Even I can see that." He gave her an encouraging smile and kissed her on the nose. "Just don't panic yet. Your life isn't over. Besides, you still have me."

"At least until my brother tears you limb from limb."

Sirius sighed. "Let me talk to Remus. If I know him, he's angrier at me than you," he replied.

"Are you sure that's a smart idea?" Cassie asked warily.

"No," he said as if the task was going to be simple, "but the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor for a reason. Guess I'd better put that courage to good use."

Cassie smiled for the first time a real smile. "You know, Sirius, your 'devil-may-care' attitude is going to get you in a  _l_ _ot_ of trouble one day," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sirius smirked. "That's why you love me so much, though, right?"

"It's on the list," she muttered, kissing him on the cheek.

He smiled broadly as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers gently, kissing her passionately as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He broke their kiss and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Cassie," he said softly.

"I love you too," she whispered, a smile on her face as she kissed him quickly again before pulling away. "I'd better go. I told Liz I'd meet her for class, and you have class yourself."

Sighing heavily, Sirius started to pull away. "I'll let you know how things go."

She nodded and hugged him tightly. "I'll try to talk to him myself later, okay?"

"Okay," he mumbled before kissing her gently again. "Remember what I said about Rose. It'll be okay, just give it some time."

Cassie nodded again and pulled away from him before pushing the passageway's door open. "I'll see you later," she said quietly before finally departing, leaving him alone. He sighed again and waited for a few minutes before leaving the passage himself. He sealed it like always and turned around, only to find himself nose-to-nose with Remus.

"Hey, Remus," Sirius greeted in a falsely cheerful voice.

Remus said nothing, but glared at Sirius, the Marauder's Map in his hand. Sirius's smile faded as Remus crossed his arms.

" _What in the_ _bloody hell_ _were you thinking?_ " Remus growled. "How long were you going to keep me in the dark about dating Cassie?"

"Moony, listen-"

"Did you think I would accept it BETTER if you kept it from me?"

"No, that wasn't it-"

"Then explain to me  _why_ you kept it from not only me, but from  _all_ _of us!_ " Remus snarled. "And while you're at it, answer this: HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?"

Sirius flinched slightly, looking at Remus in a terrifying new light. Not only was he dating his best friend's sister, but it was if he just realized that Remus was a werewolf again, and knew his condition heightened some of his emotions. And he'd managed to make him angry.

"Cassie and I didn't keep this from everybody on purpose," he said quickly and quietly. "We've wanted to tell you guys, but…but…" He sighed. "Listen, we don't know  _exactly_ why we kept it from everybody. It just seemed as if life was simpler if it were just our secret."

"And not long has this  _secret_ of yours been going on?" Remus said through gritted teeth.

"Since mid-summer…July?"

"JULY!" Remus yelled. "You two have been dating for FOUR MONTHS and didn't think to LET US KNOW!"

Sirius winced again, feeling like he was slowly shrinking as Remus towered over him. "Remus, I'm sorry. We should have told you," he said in a quiet voice. He'd never seen his best friend so furious, not even after he'd almost gotten Snape killed the year before.

Remus glared at Sirius with a look of so much loathing, Sirius was beginning to wonder if he would even survive to see the rest of the day. "What I don't get," Remus continued in a dangerously low voice, "is  _why_ you or Cassie didn't think you could trust me with handling the news. If you had just came to me and told me, Sirius, I  _may_ have been a little more understanding on the matter. Now, I wonder what else you two haven't told me."

Sirius looked at Remus with wide eyes, letting his best friend's words really sink in. Not only was Remus angry, but Sirius and Cassie had betrayed his trust and hurt him. He had been completely open the entire time during the whole thing with Liz and he had kept secrets, lied to him when his own love life had been brought up. It dawned on Sirius that he'd broken the bonds of friendship with not only Remus, but also James and Peter. And not only had he jeopardized their friendship, but their bond as Marauders.

Remus looked at him disbelief and shook his head, finally turning away from him and walking away. Sirius followed, not wanting to give up that easily. "Come on, Moony," he said. "I know what we did was pointless, but we can work this out…right?"

The other Gryffindor didn't respond. "Remus, you know I'd  _never_ hurt Cassie," he said. "I love her, and I'd rather die than let anything happen to her!"

Remus stopped suddenly, and Sirius thought maybe he'd hit a nerve. However, Remus swung around and punched Sirius as hard as possible in the jaw. The blow was hard enough to make Sirius stagger back and bend over double. He could feel the bruise already forming on the side of his face as he finally straightened up. Remus looked at him with a wild expression, almost as if his lycanthropy had taken over his mind. Sirius stood his ground and looked at his best friend in the eye.

"You can punch me as hard as you want, Remus," Sirius said gravely, "but how I feel about your sister isn't going to change."

Remus gave him a hard look, and Sirius braced himself for a second blow. But if never came as Remus turned from Sirius once more and stalked off as the bell for class rang. The bell didn't register in Sirius's mind as he grudgingly made his way up to Gryffindor Tower. Right now, classes didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

* * *

Later on that evening, Liz and Cassie made their way to McGonagall's office for detention. Professor McGonagall was waiting outside, giving them both a stern look as they entered her classroom. Both noticed that Rose wasn't there as they took a seat a few tables away from each other, knowing McGonagall would have eventually split them up anyhow. Liz ended up resting her head on her arms, looking around the classroom. She sat back up when Cassie sighed loudly and looked at her best friend, who was sitting with her arms and legs crossed. Liz looked at her and gave a small smile before letting her head fall back on the desk.

"Miss Evermore?"

Liz and Cassie both looked around as McGonagall's voice rang into the classroom, seeing Rose standing in front of the strict professor with her head down. "Young lady, I said to be here at 6:00. It is now 6:30."

They heard Rose mutter something, but couldn't make it out. McGonagall pointed in the classroom and Rose obeyed, slightly looking up. The two Hufflepuffs noticed her eyes puffy with tears still glistening in them. However, Rose avoided both their gazes and sat on the other side of the room away from them as the Transfiguration professor strode to the front of the room, looking at the three friends angrily.

"Being as you all couldn't be here on time for detention tonight, you three will join me again tomorrow, and every night until you can all show up on time."

Liz glanced over to Cassie, who looked at McGonagall, speechless for a few minutes. Finally finding her voice, Cassie protested. "But, Professor, Liz and I were here on time!"

"Why do they have to come back?" Rose said defensively. "I was the one who was late!"

"It doesn't matter, ladies, you will all learn to respect each other and how not to constantly cause trouble," McGonagall said, still looking angrily at all three over her square-rimmed classes.

Liz finally snapped out of order. "We weren't causing trouble!" she snarled.

"Yes!" Cassie added. "It wasn't  _our_ fault all of Hogwarts had to stop and watch!"

"Five points from each of you!" Professor McGonagall shouted, glaring at the three. "Fights – even loud, verbal ones – are forbidden!"

Liz crossed her arms and looked at the floor, angry with herself for getting points taken away from their house. She didn't even look up at McGonagall started speaking again.

"Now, Miss Evermore and Miss Lupin, you will be correcting some first year assignments from Professors Sprout and Flitwick. As for you, Miss Mallory, you will report to Professor Slughorn. He needs his potions closet reorganized and I volunteered you for the job."

Liz refrained from groaning as she looked up at Professor McGonagall. "Yes, Professor," she muttered, before standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder, avoiding her friend's gazes. She made it to the door when McGonagall spoke up.

"Miss Mallory."

Liz turned around and looked at the Deputy Headmistress. "Just because you have detention does not mean you are allowed to forfeit you prefect duties for both evenings. You will be expected to patrol your usual shifts after both detentions."

"Yes, Professor," Liz said again through gritted teeth before turning around and stomping from the classroom.

* * *

Four and a half tiresome and agonizing hours later, Liz left Professor Slughorn's office in slight annoyance. Eight different times she had reorganized his potions ingredients, and each time Slughorn didn't like it and made her start over. Liz was sure if she hadn't reminded him of her prefect duties that she'd still be organizing the rat tails and newt eyes and all of the other sickening things Slughorn had in his jars.

The clock had finished chiming eleven when she made it up the staircase from the dungeons to the entrance hall where Remus stood by the giant hourglasses. He turned as he heard her steps and gave a slight smile.

"I was wondering if McGonagall was going to let you do prefect duty," he said, giving her a gentle hug.

"She made it clear that I was to also do my patrol duties, even though I had detention tonight and tomorrow night," Liz said as she pulled away from him.

"Tomorrow night?" Remus repeated perplexed. "She gave you two nights for a little fight?"

Liz nodded and started to explain as they began their patrol route how she and Cassie had gotten there on time, but Rose had been thirty minutes late. "I don't know why," Liz finished softly. "None of us have really talked to each other since yesterday."

Remus looked away at the mention of the night before. "What exactly happened, Liz?" he asked. "You really didn't say."

She sighed, slowing down her pace as she looked down at her feet. "After I left you to talk to Cassie, Rose came up to us and Snape was with her. She was upset at me for avoiding everybody, and thought that it was because of you."

"It was, though," Remus said quietly.

"No," Liz said stopping in the middle of the corridor, "it wasn't. Just because I was upset doesn't mean that it was your fault."

"But-" he tried to start but she placed a hand over lips.

"It  _wasn't_ your fault, Remus," she said firmly. "It was mine, and no one else, okay?"

He sighed reluctantly. "What happened next?" he asked.

Liz started walking again, still not looking at Remus as she explained about Cassie and Rose getting in each others face and arguing while Liz and Cassie tried to explain that it was Snape's fault who caused the entire thing. "McGonagall showed up soon after that, saying we were causing a scene and gave us detention."

"And Rose showed up late tonight causing McGonagall to give another night's worth," Remus concluded. Liz nodded.

"It's driving me mad," she said quietly, "I haven't gone this long talking to either of them before. We talk more during the summer each day than we have in the past twenty four hours." She sighed and shook her head. "I want to say I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Rose especially won't forgive me."

"I'm sure she will, Liz," Remus said, putting an arm across her shoulder and hugging her to him. "Just give it time, it's not the first fight you three have ever had, is it?" She shook her head. "The three of you need a few days to come to terms with what's going on. Let the situation cool down. I'm sure that Rose will come around soon. You three are too close to be apart for a long period of time."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Remus laughed softly. "Sirius and James said something similar to me when I was trying to find you. Sometimes a little space is the best thing."

Liz smiled and returned Remus's hug. "Thanks," she said softly.

Remus smiled. "Well, that's what your boyfriend is supposed to do, isn't it? Comfort you when you need it?" he asked, pulling away and taking her hand in his.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, but just squeezed his hand. "It's in the manual," she muttered, looking at him and smiling.

After a few minutes, Remus slowed down his pace again, causing Liz to look at him in concern.

"Did Cassie mention Sirius to you?" he asked suddenly.

Liz shook her head. "No, she didn't," she responded. "Why?"

Remus shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "Because Sirius and I…aren't  _exactly_  speaking to each other either," he mumbled.

"Why?" she asked curiously, then it dawned on her. Rose had yelled to the entire school about Cassie and Sirius's relationship. "Does this have to do with-?"

"I just don't understand why they didn't tell me or anybody for that matter," Remus said suddenly, a bitter tone in his voice as he released her hand and shoved his own into the pockets of his robes again. "What were they thinking?"

Liz fell silent, listening to Remus discuss what happened between him and Sirius earlier on that day as they climbed the stairs, not really paying attention to their patrolling duties. When he said that he punched him, she looked at him in shock. "You  _punched_ him?" she said incredulously. "Why?"

"I didn't mean to lose control," Remus had a guilty look on his face. "When he said he loved Cassie, it was like my over protectiveness for her kicked in to a whole new level. It was like-" he stopped and looked down at the floor and stopped. "It was like the other side of me…took over my mind."

Liz looked at Remus in concern. Timidly, she pulled his hand from his pocket and linked it with in hers. "It didn't take over your mind, Remus," she said softly. "You were just upset, that's all."

He shook his head, and tried to pull away from her. "But what if something happens, and I do snap one day and I hurt somebody like my friends or Cassie." He looked at her. "Or you?"

"You won't," she said firmly.

Remus looked down at her, knowing there was some truth behind her confidence, even if he had trouble believing it himself. "Do you always have this much faith in people?" he asked bemusedly.

Liz looked back at him and smiled. "For people I care about, yes."

He smiled and squeezed her hand before pulling her up the stairs so they could finish their patrol. By the time they reached the seventh floor, it was well past their patrolling hours. Remus stopped outside of the Gryffindor Tower and hugged Liz tightly.

"Sorry I ranted about my problems to you," he muttered.

"Don't be," she said, hugging him back. "Besides, I've done more than rant to you for the past two days. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Remus gave a little smile and kissed her forehead. "Well, if we can't rant to each other, who can we rant to, right?" he asked.

"Got a point." She shrugged, looking up at him. "You should apologize to Sirius."

He sighed. "I know," he said. "I just don't know what to say about him and Cassie."

"It'll come to you," Liz said. "You'll know what to say when the time comes."

"You see a silver lining in everything, don't you?" he said, smiling a bit.

"Almost everything," Liz corrected.

"What don't you see a silver lining in?"

She smirked. "I'll let you know if it ever happens," she said, pulling away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Liz," Remus said softly. "Sweet dreams."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Remus." she whispered, before disappearing down the corridor. Remus watched her leave before sighing softly. Finally, he gave the password to the Fat Lady, contemplating what he was planning on saying to Sirius.

* * *

The next evening at detention, the three managed to all arrive on time. Professor McGonagall apparently couldn't find any other professors who needed the help, and had to keep all three in the classroom together. Of course, the trio was still not talking to each other (with the exception of Liz and Cassie) and sat the entire time in silence. Finally, after three hours of Professor McGonagall giving them another lecture about disrupting the halls of Hogwarts and how they should get along, she released them. Liz and Cassie had packed up their things and were leaving when Rose finally spoke up for the first time in two days.

"I'm sorry."

Cassie and Liz turned and looked at their Slytherin friend. Rose sighed and looked down, playing with the cuff of her robe. "About the other night, I was out of line," she said softly, avoiding both of their gazes. "I shouldn't have blamed Remus for what Severus did. I was just worried about you, Liz." She looked up at the two, tears brimming her eyes. "I guess Remus had his reasons for not telling you sooner, and Severus should have kept out of it."

Cassie looked at Liz and then back at Rose. "Why has it taken you two days to finally come to us?" she asked.

"I was afraid that you guys wouldn't give me a chance," Rose muttered, looking back down. "Not until I was away from Severus. So I told him to stay away from me."

"What?" Cassie and Liz said at the same time.

"Why?" Liz asked.

"Because you two are my best friends…I couldn't stand having you two mad at me for the rest of my life," Rose said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Staying away from Severus felt like the only way you'd forgive me."

"Rose, you should have done that," Liz said, looking at her sadly. "Your happiness matters too."

"Liz is right," Cassie added. "We're friends, we're always going to fight. But you don't have to sacrifice your happiness to get us to forgive you."

Rose looked at them both, tears eyes again. "You still consider me your friend?"

Cassie sighed and looked at Liz, shaking her head. "And I thought you were the 'oblivious-to-life' one of the group," she said.

Liz opened her mouth to retaliate, but before she could, Rose had hugged them both tightly at the same time. "I'm so sorry," Rose cried again, still hugging them. Liz patted her on the back, trying to breathe.

"It's okay," Liz gasped. "But, will you let us breathe? Please?"

Rose let go of them and smiled. "Sorry," she said again.

"You're as bad as Liz," Cassie said. "You say sorry a million times."

"I do not!" Liz said indignantly. Cassie smiled and Rose chuckled. Finally, Liz smiled too.

Things were getting back to normal.


	8. Dances and Lunch Dates

Despite Liz having so much faith in Remus, he still didn't have the heart to find Sirius and apologize. Throughout the day he'd ran different scenarios in his head, but each one sounded idiotic. Finally he had found his sister, who was put out with him and after realizing that Sirius probably told Cassie about their confrontation, Remus knew that his little sister had a reason to be mad. He figured he'd better find a way to talk to Sirius before he lost his best friend  _and_ his sister.

"And you wonder  _why_ we didn't tell you about our relationship," Cassie said angrily after she had cornered him the next day. "Maybe if you didn't try to be so overprotective of me, I would tell you these things!"

"As your older brother, it's only natural for me to be protective of you, Cassie," Remus said calmly, trying to reason with her. "But I also thought you two could trust me with this information! I never thought you would keep something like this from me. And you expect me to be okay with you dating my best friend?"

_"You're dating_ _mine_ _!"_

Remus fell silent, knowing he couldn't hold that over her head when he was dating Liz. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"We didn't keep this from everybody on purpose," she said. "We didn't know how anybody would take it, especially you. But I love Sirius, and you need to accept that he loves me, too."

With that, she walked away, leaving her brother to think about how he had been treating his best friend and sister.

* * *

Sirius was in the sixth year dorm, staring at the Marauder's Map. It had become a pastime over the past day, mostly to make sure he could avoid Remus at all costs. Not that had wanted to stay away from his best friend, but he didn't really fancy being punched again, nor having to make another trip to Madam Pomfrey to have the swelling on his face go down.

It wasn't that Sirius was afraid of Remus. He had seen the hurt in his best friend's eyes the day before, and Sirius couldn't bare of seeing the look of disappointment on his face. Sirius had seen it so many times on his parents that he should have been used to it. He wasn't used to seeing the expression on somebody he considered more important than his family.

He glanced at his watch, figuring it would be safe to join James and Peter in the common room. Remus would be leaving soon to do Prefect Patrols, and Sirius wouldn't have to worry about another row.

Putting the map away, he headed out of the dorm, the same time Remus was walking in. The two looked at each other before Sirius looked down at the floor.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and moved past him. He was about to start down the stairs when he heard Remus call out behind him.

"Hey, Padfoot?"

Sirius turned around, a surprised look on his face that Remus even called after him, let alone by his nickname. "Yeah?"

Remus sighed. "If you want to date Cassie," he started, rubbing the back of his neck, "it's fine with me. I'm okay with it."

His best friend looked at him with a confused look. "What made you change your mind?"

"Well, Cassie cornering me and yelling may have something to do with it."

"Yeah, she has that effect on people."

"Just don't keep things this important from people anymore, okay?"

Sirius looked up at Remus, his face lighting back up for the first time in days. "Thanks, Moony," he said quietly. "That means a lot coming from you."

"I just want my sister to be happy," Remus continued. "And my best friends. So, if it's with each other…I guess I can live with it." He have Sirius a semi-hard look. "Just one thing."

"What?"

"If you hurt her…"

"I would never do anything to her, Remus."

"I'm just saying, if she gets hurt, me punching you will be the least of your worries."

Sirius nodded, looking at Remus with a slight fear as to what would happen to him. "Deal," he said, and the two hugged briefly before Sirius headed down to the common room, looking happier than he had in days, leaving Remus to drop his books on his bed and head to rounds.

* * *

The next morning, the Marauders headed to the Great Hall in high spirits. Between Remus and Sirius fighting the four had barely been together. As they reached the entrance hall, they noticed a crowd of people surrounding a sign.

"What's going on?" James asked, looking at the other three. They shrugged their shoulders and approached the sign. As the crowd finally dispersed, they made their way over to the announcement. James began to read out loud, "'On Christmas Eve, Hogwarts will be having a Christmas Ball for students between 4th and 7th years. Third year students may attend if invited by an older student. A Hogsmeade trip is planned for this weekend.' Bloody hell," James muttered, "A ball? Seriously?"

"Hey, I'm Sirius!" Sirius said, using the joke that he always did when somebody said, 'serious.' James however didn't smile.

"What's Dumbledore thinking?" he said, pulling on his unruly hair. "Does he know what he's putting us through?"

"Prongs, calm down," Sirius said. "You can have any girl in this school-"

"That's easy for you two to say, you already have dates!" James snarled. Remus and Sirius looked at each other with confusion.

"Has something happened that we don't know about?" Remus asked.

"Lily and James got into another fight last night after you left for rounds," Sirius muttered.

"What about this time?" They entered the Great Hall, James now complaining to Peter that he'd never get Lily to go on a date with him.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly, I can't keep up with the reasons why Lily has threatened to hex him."

Remus chuckled and shook his head, glancing at the Hufflepuff table to see Liz and Cassie talking excitedly to each other, probably about the ball.

Remus knew that Liz was going to want to go – what girl wouldn't? But he wasn't sure about going about asking her. He could always use the Hogsmeade trip to ask her…that was an idea…

He stood up, and grabbed his bag, the other Marauders looking at him. "Where are you going?" Sirius asked. "You haven't eaten breakfast!"

"I'm not hungry!" he retorted before leaving the table. He walked around the Hufflepuff's table, staying hidden from her view until he sneakily sat beside her. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, causing her to jump and look at him in surprise.

"How did you get over here?" she asked.

"Well, they have this thing now called walking, Liz," Cassie said, listening to the conversation. Liz turned around and stuck her tongue out before turning back to Remus.

"I was wondering if you're doing anything Saturday?" Remus asked, somehow calm about the whole thing.

"Well, Cassie and I were going to see if Rose wanted to go to Hogsmeade for a few hours." She looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you would like to spend a couple hours with me afterwards," he asked, his heart slightly speeding up. "Maybe lunch at the Three Broomsticks?"

Liz smiled. "Sure," she said. "It'll be fun."

Remus grinned broadly. "Great," he said, "I'll see you later?" She nodded and he leaned in and kissed her on the lips, which she responded and kissed him back.

"Oh, come on, do you have to do this in front of me?" Cassie exclaimed, looking away from the couple and rolling her eyes.

The two broke apart and smiled before Remus stood up. "I'd better go," he said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Will you go away so we can gossip in peace?" Cassie grumbled, looking at her older brother.

Remus rolled his eyes, saying a quick goodbye to his sister before heading back to the Gryffindor table.

* * *

When Sirius saw that Remus had asked Liz to Hogsmeade, he knew that he should ask Cassie. Now that their relationship was no longer a secret, he could actually take her on an actual date, not that he didn't mind the romantic nights they spent in the Room of Requirement since they had discovered it. It was right before dinner and he stood outside of the Great Hall, waiting for Cassie to get out of class. Finally, he saw her descending the stairs with Liz and Rose and smiled when she caught his gaze. She said something to her friends before walking over to him and threw her arms around his neck.

"I told you the three of you couldn't stay apart for long," he said, kissing her quickly on the lips. "Come with me." He linked hands with her sand pulled her outside to the courtyard.

"What's going on?" Cassie asked curiously. "Is everything okay?"

Sirius looked at her as they sat on the stone seats outside with a confused look. "Everything's fine, Cassie," he said softly. "I was to ask you a question."

"Okay," she responded, the worry in her expression leaving her face.

Sirius sighed. "I know that we've been dating for a while, and we've had some dates so to speak in the Room of Requirement, but…" he pulled out his wand and conjured a yellow rose and handed it to her. "Would you go on an official first date with me to Hogsmeade? I'd like to spend the whole day with you."

Cassie looked at the yellow rose in her hand and looked up at Sirius. "The  _whole_ day?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "What do you say?"

She sighed and looked away for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but not the entire day," she responded.

Sirius's face fell and felt his heart drop into his stomach. "You're not regretting anything, are you?" he asked, feeling like a first year all over again.

"That's not it!" Cassie said quickly, and his heart started to beat again, "I promised I would spend time with Liz and Rose, well, if we can get Rose to go."

"Can't you make an exception?" Sirius protested.

Cassie shook her head. "No," she said. "I made a promise, and considering everything that's happened in the past couple of weeks, it's probably wise for me to keep it."

Sirius nodded, his smile fading more as he looked down. "Oh," he said softly. "That's…that's fine."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cassie move closer to him. "What about meeting for lunch?" she suggested. He looked up at her. "Liz and Remus are going to meet at Three Broomsticks at that time, you and your friends can hang around Hogsmeade while me and my friends are."

Sirius thought about it for a few minutes. It wouldn't be all day, but at least he'd be able to see her long enough to ask her to the ball. Finally he nodded. "That sounds good."

Cassie and looked down at the yellow rose in her hand and smiled. "Thank you for the rose," she said softly. "It's beautiful."

He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you'd like it. Yellow is your favorite color, right?"

She nodded. "Well, you've been listening to me when I talk, at least," she laughed. She ran a hand over the soft pedals before leaning up and giving him a quick kiss. "I guess we'd better get to dinner or our friends are going to send search parties for us."

Sirius laughed his usual bark and rolled his eyes. He stood up, holding a hand out to her. Cassie took it and stood as well and wrapping an arm around her waist, Sirius led them back toward the castle.

* * *

"No."

"Rose…"

"I'm not going."

"And why not?"

"Because, Liz," Rose said grumpily, looking up from her potions book. "I'd rather not sit and watch the two of you be love-sick puppies while I'm miserable."

Cassie, Liz, and Rose were sitting in the library, trying to get some homework finished before the Hogsmeade trip the next day. Cassie and Liz had been trying for the past two days to get Rose to join them in Hogsmeade, but their Slytherin friend refused.

"Okay, Rose," Cassie said in annoyance. "What is wrong with you? You've been like this ever since they announced the Ball."

Rose looked up. "I haven't been a certain way," she said defensively.

"Yeah, you have," Liz muttered, looking up from her own Potions book as Madam Pince walked by their table. "Is this about the Ball? Or about  _him_?"

Rose gave her a hard look, knowing she was talking about Severus. "I'm just not that excited about a bloody dance."

"You're going though right?" Liz pressed on.

Rose sighed. "Probably not."

"Why not?" Cassie and Liz said at the same time.

"You think I want to go just to see you two off with your guys?" Rose retorted. "I'll pass."

"What about just going and spending time with your friends and having fun with us?" Cassie asked.

Rose sighed and picked up her quill again and started on her paper once more. "I don't know, Cassie, it's too early to tell."

"It's a month away!"

Rose shrugged and didn't reply. Cassie and Liz looked at each other and shook their heads. They'd get her there one way or another.

If they had to drag her there themselves, they would.

* * *

The next morning, and despite their attempts to get Rose to join them, Liz and Cassie headed to Hogsmeade without their Slytherin friend. She'd given them a last minute excuse of wanting to rewrite her Potions essay before hurrying up the stairs toward the library. The two Hufflepuffs walked slowly to the village discussing what was going on with Rose.

"Have you noticed she's been acting differently?" Liz asked. "Ever since that fight, something's been off."

"I've noticed," Cassie responded. "I think it has to do with Snape."

"What, with her telling him to stay away?"

"Yeah."

Liz sighed and kicked a rock up the road. "Guess we're to blame a little bit about that."

"No," Cassie said shortly. "We didn't have her at wand point and demand that she do that. There's no one else to blame but herself."

"It seems every time you mention Sirius or if I mention Remus, I don't know. I think the main reason she's considering not going to the ball is because-"

"We basically have dates and she doesn't?"

"Well, yeah."

"Liz, you're not considering skipping out on the ball, are you?" Cassie asked.

Liz shrugged. "Rose is one of our best friends. If she doesn't go-"

"Then it's her bloody decision," Cassie interrupted. "I know it seems heartless, but she knows what she can do to make it better. Like I said, she brought it on herself. Merlin knows I love that girl like a sister, but sometimes she's about as clueless as you."

"I feel like I should be insulted by that comment," Liz replied dryly.

"You know I say it with love. Besides, my brother wouldn't like you so much if you were  _completely_  clueless."

Liz rolled her eyes and pushed Cassie, who pushed her back. Laughing, the two put the touchy subject behind them and headed into Hogsmeade.

* * *

"Remus, calm down!"

"I can't!"

"I swear, you're worse than Peter getting called on during class!"

Remus glared at Sirius before downing the rest of his butterbeer. The two had left James and Peter early and headed to the Three Broomsticks for a quick drink. Sirius was calm, having gone on dates before. Remus, on the other hand, was a few nerves shy of being a wreck. The thought of dating was new to him, and didn't know what to expect. What if he ended up doing something or saying something stupid and she got upset?

"Moony, you're going to break that glass if you squeeze it any harder," Sirius said bemusedly. Remus looked down and released his empty glass.

"Is the first date  _always_ like this?" Remus asked, his eyes darting to the door every time it opened. It was close to noon and Cassie and Liz would be there any moment.

"Not really," Sirius said. Remus shot him a hateful glare. "Moony, relax. I'm sure she's as nervous as you."

"I doubt it," Remus muttered.

"Are you a nervous wreck every time you're alone with her? Or when you two talk together in the halls between classes?"

"No."

"Alright, this is no different. You're just in a public place rather than the castle. Be like you are when you patrol. It's not as scary as your mind is making it."

Remus nodded, taking in a few deep breaths. Just the thought of the word "date" had been so specific in his mind. He'd always envisioned a nice dinner, maybe a walk or something afterward. But being in the village and being only sixteen, he was taking it way out of proportion. After all, Sirius was right, it was just like hanging out with Liz at Hogwarts, just a different setting.

The door bell rang as it was pushed open once more, and Cassie and Liz came in. Remus looked up and gave an awkward wave as Sirius stood up. Feeling slightly idiotic, Remus also stood and walked over to Liz.

"Hey," she said, giving a bright smile.

Remus returned her smile. "Hey," he responded. "Did you to have fun?"

"We always have fun," Cassie interjected into the conversation.

"Cassie's got a point," Liz added with an amused expression. "But yes, we had fun."

"Well, sorry to, you know, run off," Sirius said suddenly, "but Cassie and I are going to go…that way we're not intruding."

"You're not-" Remus started, but Sirius cut him off.

"We'll catch up with you two later!" Sirius said, taking Cassie by the hand. "You two have fun!"

"Yeah, have fun," Cassie called, giving a mischievous smile to Liz. Remus looked from his sister to his girlfriend with a perplexed look.

"Er…did I miss something?" he asked confused. Liz looked at him with a similar expression and shrugged her shoulders.

"I have no idea," Liz mumbled. "Cassie and Sirius have something planned, or so it seems."

"Great, at least it should be an interesting evening," Remus said. He shook his head and gave her another smile. "So...do you want to grab lunch…and then walk around Hogsmeade a little?" he asked. He was still anxious, but was feeling more relaxed than he had been ten minutes ago.

She smiled. "Sounds good," she said. Remus gave another smile before taking her hand and leading her to the now-clear table he and Sirius had been sitting at.

Maybe he'd been nervous for nothing after all.

* * *

It was later on that afternoon, and Remus and Liz had finished walking through Hogsmeade. After stopping by Zonko's joke shop and stocking up gags and prank supplies, they started back toward Hogwarts. The two were walking hand-in-hand when Remus suddenly pulled her off the trail that led straight up to the castle.

"Remus where are we going?" Liz asked as he pulled her down the hill toward the lake.

"It's a surprise."

"Should I be afraid?"

Remus smiled. "I don't think so," he responded, and continued to gently pull her down the hill. They reached the lake, not too far from the edge of the forest. The water was at least waist deep at the edge and was one of the only placed on the grounds that Remus could go for peace and quiet. It was also one of the only secluded swimming spots in the spring that wasn't overcrowded by other students who had the same idea after exams.

Liz looked around at the surrounding are. "It's beautiful," she said in awe. She turned around and looked at him. "How did you find this place?"

Remus sat down on the edge of the shore, his feet dangling over the edge. "When James, Sirius, and Peter found out about my condition," he started, "I thought that they would treat me different. So to avoid the tower as much as possible, I'd stay outside. One day I came down here, and discovered this place. It's really one of the only places I can actually sit and think."

Liz sat down beside him, also resting her feet over the edge of the shore. "One of the places?" she asked curiously.

"Well, there's only one other place on grounds that I can think and have peace and quiet."

"Where's that?"

Remus smiled. "The Astronomy Tower."

Liz looked at him and gave a small smile. "That's where I usually go," she said softly.

"I know," Remus said suddenly, knowing that she was thinking about the day he confronted her about Snape exposing his secret…the same night he asked her to be his girlfriend.

Speaking of asking…

The two fell silent, both gazing out to the lake, watching the Giant Squid swim up near the surface of the water. Remus reached out, linking his hand with hers. She looked away from the lake and at him, moving closer and leaning her head on his shoulder. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist instead, pulling her even closer to him.

"Liz?" he said softly after a while, lazily playing with her hair.

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"Will you…will you go to the Christmas Ball with me?" The words rolled so smoothly off his tongue it actually surprised him.

Liz smiled and nodded. "Of course I will," she said softly.

Remus smiled before bending down and kissing her softly on the lips. "Good," he muttered. "Because I probably wouldn't go at all if it weren't for you."

She smiled even brighter at that. He kissed her on the nose quickly before kissing her lips again. She returned his kiss and let it deepen, the two lost in the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile with Sirius and Cassie, Sirius had planned something different. The two had left the Three Broomsticks hand in hand, walking through the village to pass the time. Cassie explained that she had spent the last five minutes trying to convince Liz to be calm about her and Remus's date, which caused Sirius to chuckle.

"I did the same with Remus," he chortled. "I'd never seen him in such a nervous wreck."

"What was he so nervous about? He and Liz are alone all the time, especially on rounds."

"That's what I told him. I think it was more of the fact the word "date" was being said."

Cassie shook her head. "I think that may have been Liz's problem too."

Sirius laughed again as they continued through Hogsmeade. They started up the trail toward the Shrieking Shack when Sirius began to pull her off the trail and toward another path.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Cassie asked as they started to head up the steep trail.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

"I have something I want to show you, Cassie," Sirius said, helping her as they began to climb up the mountain that overlooked the village. After several minutes of climbing, Cassie spoke up again.

"Sirius, are we even allowed up here?" she asked through deep breaths as they reached the top of the summit.

"I don't know," Sirius admitted, also out of breath, "but how many times have we gone against the rules for a little bit of fun?"

Cassie smiled and looked around. The village could be seen perfectly from where she stood, and Hogwarts could be seen peaking from its foundation. The lake seemed calm from there, the sun gleaming down on it and reflecting into the forest. She looked back at Sirius who was also taking in the view, glancing over to see her reaction. "How did you find this place?"

"Well, being an Animagus has its advantages," he said with a grin. "We discovered it during a full moon once."

Cassie turned away from the scenic view of Hogwarts and looked around the summit. The area seemed to a cliff, with more of the rocky mountain rising above where they stood. Farther up the cliff was the small opening to a cave.

"We're not going in there, are we?" Cassie asked timidly, looking at Sirius.

"No," Sirius said. "When we discovered it the first time, trust me, you  _don't_ want to go in there."

"Spiders?"

"Among other things."

"You know me too well," Cassie said, shuddering at the thought of even seeing a spider. They were one of her biggest fears, so bad that she couldn't stand to use them in Potions class. She usually made Liz deal with them when having to use them for potions.

Sirius moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, kissing her gently on the neck. "Of course, I know you well," he said softly. "It's one of my many duties as your boyfriend to make sure I protect you."

"Even from spiders?"

"Spiders, snakes, slimy grease balls in the form of bats…"

Cassie rolled her eyes and smiled, knowing who he was referring to with the last one. She leaned into him and looked back out at the view of Hogwarts, caught in the moment of just having alone time with Sirius and not having to worry about anything else.

"You know, there's a reason I brought you up here, Cassie," Sirius said quietly.

"Why's that?" she asked, pulling away from him.

"You said you trusted me, right?"

"Well, it definitely hasn't changed in a few hours."

"Close your eyes."

Cassie looked at him with interest before doing as he instructed. She closed her eyes, not knowing what to expect. Suddenly she felt something cold and heavy around her neck.

"Okay…you can open them now."

Cassie's eyes fluttered open, and she looked down. On a silver chain around her neck hung a yellow rose, the gems a radiant gold with silver leaves surrounding it. She look up at Sirius, who was giving her an anxious look.

"I was hoping maybe it'll match your dress robes…for the Christmas Ball," he said, shuffling his feet, "you know, if you'll go with me."

Cassie looked down at the necklace again before going to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips gently to his. "How's that for an answer?" she whispered.

"I need to ask you more yes or no questions," Sirius muttered with a dazed expression. "Just as long as the answers always yes."

Cassie smirked. "Thought you would like that."

Sirius smiled and kissed her again. "So, do you like the necklace?"

"I love it."

"Good."

The two stayed embraced for a while, until the sun began to only peak over the towers of Hogwarts. They made their way back down the mountain and through Hogsmeade, where they ran into James coming out of Zonko's Joke Shop with a large bag of pranks and gags. The three headed back toward Hogwarts when Sirius remembered the prank he and Cassie had planned a few days before.

"Hey Prongs?"

"Yeah, Padfoot?'

"Wanna help me and Cassie?"

"Does this involve a certain werewolf of a friend and his girlfriend?"

"It might," Cassie chipped in, looking at Sirius. "You told James?"

"It may have slipped out," Sirius mumbled.

"It slipped that we decided to team up and pull a prank?"

"I love you?" Sirius said with a bashful grin.

Cassie rolled her eyes and smiled. "I love you too."

"Is he down at his usual spot by the lake?" James asked, a mischievous look on his face.

"That's where Remus said he was taking Liz," Sirius responded. James smirked and nodded.

"Let's go."

* * *

The setting of the sun also brought in the coolness of the November air. Despite the wind beginning to slowly bring in the cold air, Remus and Liz continued to sit by the lakeside. Liz was curled up next to Remus, his arms wrapped around her. The two had spent most of the time just talking, sometimes kissing, or just silently taking in the moment and being together.

The two were quietly talking when their friends slipped up behind them. The pranksters looked at each other and after a silent count to three, ran up behind their victims and pushed them forward into the lake.

"Bloody hell, you do realize it's November, right?" Liz shouted as she pushed her hair from her face.

"Was that what you two were planning earlier?" Remus said, glaring at Sirius and Cassie.

"It's possible," Cassie responded with a grin on her face and Sirius and Jame roared with laughter behind her.

"Come on, Moony, you should have known when you told us what you were going to do, that we were going to do something," Sirius said, his face beaming with laughter.

Liz looked at Remus, still trying to sort out her hair. "You told them?" she said, her teeth chattering together.

"Er…whoops?" he said sheepishly. James and Sirius started to laugh.

"Hey Prongs, think we should help them out?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know, Padfoot, we may end up in the water with them."

"We should send somebody in after them."

"Not me."

"Not me either."

Liz and Remus watched at the two Gryffindors looked at Cassie. She looked at them wide-eyed and shook her head.

"Don't you dare, Sirius Black!"

Sirius didn't respond, but instead lunged for Cassie. She shrieked and dodged Sirius, then started running back up the hill. He chased after her, catching up with her and picking her up before walking back down to the lake with her over his shoulder. Remus had just helped Liz out of the lake when Sirius sat Cassie down at the edge.

"And you thought I was going to throw you in," Sirius said with a smirk.

Cassie gave Sirius a hard look before pushing him closer to the edge. Sirius lost his balance against the loose ground and fell backwards into the lake, hitting the water with a loud splash.

"Did you think  _I'd_ let you get away with that?" Cassie asked with her arms crossed. She never saw her brother and best friend sneak up behind her until it was too late. Remus and Liz pushed her in with Sirius, and when she resurfaced, both were looking murderously up at their friends. James had bolted up the hill in fear of being the next person in the lake, yelling a quick goodbye halfway up.

"Cassie, I think this backfired," Sirius said, wading back to the edge of the shore.

"It's your fault."

"You still love me though, right?"

"I don't need to witness this," Remus muttered.

"Like I need to see my brother and best friend?" Cassie retorted as Sirius pulled her out of the water.

"Touché."

"Well, this was fun," Sirius commented, pushing the hair out of his face. "Been nice if it were a warmer month, though."

"If I end up seeing Madam Pomfrey for a Pepper-Up Potion, I'm blaming you," Liz said to Cassie as they started back up the hill toward the castle.

"And I'm blaming you," Cassie retorted.

"How is it  _my_  fault when it was  _your_  prank?!"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other and shook their heads before wrapping their arms around their respective girlfriends.


	9. The Christmas Ball

Before everybody knew it, Christmas break had arrived. The sign up sheet for students to stay at Hogwarts over the holiday was passed around and most of the those in fourth year and up were staying for the ball. Liz and Cassie had to beg Rose to stay and go to the dance with them. The Slytherin had ranted and complained about how it would be useless to, "go to a bloody dance without a bloody date," as she had put it.

Cassie and Liz both had tried several times to make her go to Severus and just talk to him, but Rose kept on refusing, muttering something about the older Slytherin never going to trust her again before stalking off and leaving the two Hufflepuffs equally confused.

Nonetheless, they managed to get her to stay for the ball, much to her displeasure.

"You do realize as soon as the two of you are pulled away to dance, I'm leaving," Rose said stubbornly as that sat in the Three Broomsticks the weekend before the ball.

"At least you can say you went to the bloody dance," Cassie said. Rose shrugged and sipped on her Butterbeer.

"It's not going to be as bad as you're making it out to be," Liz added.

"I think it is as bad as I'm making it out."

"Rose," Cassie pushed her empty glass away from her and gave her best friend a stern look. "It's going to be fine. It's just a dance. Besides, you never know, something good may come out of you going."

"Yeah, maybe somebody new will literally waltz into your life," Liz muttered. Rose smacked her in the head.

"And I doubt that will happen, Liz," she said sulkily.

Cassie rolled her eyes as Liz let her head fall onto the table. "Just come to the bloody dance. I still think you'd be making a mistake if you didn't."

Rose huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine," she muttered. "But don't expect me to stay for the entire thing."

"As long as you come to it," Liz responded.

"Okay," Cassie said, standing up. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Liz and Rose asked at the same time.

"Well, seeing as the ball is in a week, we need to pick up our dress robes…don't you think?"

Liz and Rose both shrugged their shoulders. "Do we have to?" Rose whined.

"Yes," her two Hufflepuff friends said simultaneously. Rose sighed.

"Alright," she mumbled. "Let's go."

The three friends left the Three Broomsticks and headed for the village robe shop. The last trip to Hogsmeade, Liz and Cassie had been fitted for their dress robes. The two dragged Rose into the shop much to her displeasure and had her fitted for her own robe. Due to it being the last visit until the ball, the store owner informed her that her dress robes would be delivered to Hogwarts sometime that week. Liz and Cassie picked up their purchases and the three headed back to Hogwarts in high spirits.

* * *

The rest of the week went by without any major problems. Sirius and James managed to make Snape's potion explode in Potions, causing Slughorn to give them detention for the entire Saturday afternoon before the ball. When they returned to get ready, they were exhausted, but still in high spirits. James had managed to knick a couple of Pepper-Up Potions from Slughorn's supply, which helped the two immensely. Peter returned from trying to get himself a new date (his date had gone home for break), which he unfortunately did not succeed in doing.

It was fifteen minutes until the ball was to begin when the four friends decided to head down to the Entrance Hall. Sirius was feeling the most confident of the four friends, which only made James whine how he wasn't taking Lily.

James left the group as they reached the first floor, going to find his date that he had used his Potter charm into going with him. Peter slinked off to see if he could try to find a date again, leaving Sirius and Remus to wait for Cassie and Liz. Remus was looking around when Sirius nudged him and nodded toward the stairs.

He saw his sister first. Her dress robe was a pale yellow with black embellishments around the sleeves and bottom, but her sleeves were more of the Renaissance style, long but short enough to not be an annoyance. Around her neck was the rose-shaped necklace Sirius had given her. Her hair was curled into a perfect bun. He gave her a smile as she joined Sirius, who was gazing at her with his mouth open. He smiled and shook his head before he turned back toward the staircase. He saw Liz and felt his own mouth slack, his breath taken away.

Her dress robe was a deep blue that trailed just slightly behind her. Like Cassie's, it was also covered with silver embellishments around the top and bottom of the dress as well as around the waist before the fabric's many layers surrounded her. Her hair was in tight spiraling curls that were pinned in her hair in a delicate design.

Remus moved closer to the staircase and took her hand, staring at her in awe. "You look beautiful," he breathed. She smiled and turned pink.

"Thanks," she said. "You look great too."

Remus smiled and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand before pulling her gently to Sirius and Cassie.

"Have you two seen Rose?" Cassie asked.

"You mean you two managed to convince her to come to the ball?" Sirius said in a shocked voice.

"Yes and only under the condition that the three of us would hang out a little bit before you two dragged us onto the dance floor," Liz added.

Liz and Cassie looked around among the crowd, trying to find their Slytherin friend. Then, they heard their names being called. The four turned around to see Rose, her dress robe of dark green hugging the floor around her feet similar to Liz's. Her hair was in a bun with small spiral curls covering over it. She looked at the two couples and gave a small smile. The five exchanged hellos and small talk before the halls of the Great Hall opened. The group followed the rest of the students in, looking at their usual dining hall in awe.

Where the four long tables stood, smaller tables surrounded the walls, a large dance floor and stage in the center. Snow was falling from the sky where the night sky usually was. The twelve Christmas trees stood tall in their usual spots, everything covered in silver and white decorations. The five friends grabbed a table together, laughing and talking to each other as the other students piled into the hall, searching for friends and trying to convince others to be their date for the night. James joined them with a girl from Ravenclaw, and they never saw Peter.

"Anybody seen Wormtail?" Sirius asked. "We haven't seen the poor bloke since this evening when we were getting ready."

"I saw him heading back up the stairs toward Gryffindor," James said. "Tried to stop him, but said to just to go to the ball."

The others looked at each other and gave a sympathetic glance. Rose looked around especially, seeing Cassie and Sirius quietly talking to each other. She glanced over at Liz and Remus, who were also talking, Remus's hand on top of Liz's on the table. Even James and his date were having a quiet conversation, his date laughing at whatever he was saying.

Why had she even agreed to come to this bloody thing? Granted she'd thought it would be a good way to get her mind off everything, especially the fact she and Severus hadn't talked in months. But seeing her friends and their dates made it worse. She sighed and picked at her food, claiming not to be hungry when somebody asked what was wrong. Of course, each time she said this, she received an small glare from Cassie or Liz.

After everybody's plates were cleared and had disappeared, a band filed on stage. The students began to file onto the dance floor as the band began to play a relatively fast number. James asked his date first and the two joined the students already dancing close to each other. A few minutes later, Sirius, Cassie, Remus, and Liz joined them as well, Cassie and Liz both saying a quick, "Back in a moment," to their Slytherin friend, leaving her alone at the table.

After contemplating little about her decision, Rose decided to sneak away from the ball. She was sure that Cassie and Liz would be well-occupied with Sirius and Remus to even remember that they'd brought her against her will. Besides, she had kept her end of the bargin. She had shown up, she attempted to have fun, and now she was done for the evening. She stood from then table and walked around the walls of the Great Hall, watching the couples in slight envy before leaving the hall without a backwards glance. She had made it back to the Slytherin Common Room, wishing nothing more than to be out of her long green robe when she heard her name.

"Rose?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that voice anywhere, despite not hearing it the past few months. Rose turned around slowly, seeing Severus sitting at one of the leather couches, looking up from what looked to be their Potions book.

"Severus," she greeted quietly. She looked down at the ground, her mind going back to the last time they'd held a conversation. She was a bit surprised that he'd spoke up to her; she had been positive that he'd hated her, found her untrustworthy. After all of the things he'd told her, confessed to her, she'd abandoned him like others had in his life. Why was he speaking to her after that?

"You…you look-"

"Like a freak, I know." She cut him off, now seeing  _why_ he had stopped to speak to her.

"I was going to say beautiful, actually," he said. She looked up at him, then glanced down at the long green gown that surrounded her and covered her feet before looking up at him again. All she wanted was to go to bed.

"Thanks," she said lamely. She found it difficult to find the right words to say to him. She felt her cheeks grown warm from her statement as she averted his gaze again. She cleared her throat and tried to change the topic. "How come you didn't go to the Ball?"

Snape scoffed and put the book down, standing up. "And be the subject of Black and Potter's torture? No thanks."

"I see your point. Trust me, you didn't miss much."

"Good," he responded quietly. "How have  _you_ been?"

She shrugged. "Okay," she muttered.

The two awkwardly stood in silence, hearing the muffled laughter of some of the younger students who had stayed for the holidays in the dorms above. Rose shuffled her feet, almost wanting to turn and walked back to down the dungeons. She felt like the two had finished their conversation, the last talk the two would ever had. But there were so many things that she say to him, explain and try to make him see reason about. She wanted to apologize for leaving, saying she didn't want to talk to him. She wanted him back in her life, tired of feeling jealous of her friends because they had somebody in their lives when she didn't.

But she couldn't start talking. In a way she felt like if she poured out her feelings to him, he'd make sure she was confined to a room in St. Mungo's or would run screaming in the opposite direction and have himself committed.

Finally, she cleared her throat again. "I'll see you later, Severus," she said, knowing that she'd lost the one person in her life that she'd cared (apart from Cassie and Liz) months ago. She gave a small, brief smile before turning away.

"I'm sorry, Rosalina."

She turned around again for the second time. She looked at him oddly, a surprised look on her face. "What?"

"I've wanted nothing more than to talk to you for the last three months, Rose," Severus said, taking a step toward her. "But I've been too much of a coward to try and fix this thing, whatever it is, between us."

"You're not a coward," Rose said. "You could never be."

"On certain things, I'll agree, that I'm not a coward," he admitted. "Despite what Potter and Black say or do, I'm not a coward to defend myself, but, when I can't tell the one friend I've ever had, well, apart from Evans, how I feel about her, and that I've wanted nothing more than to fix things with…I'm a coward."

Rose looked up at him, her heart beating faster, feeling tears start to well in her eyes. Why was she crying? Did she have to be such a girl right now? A part of her was expecting him to say some other person's name, but deep down, she knew that he was talking about her. "You're still not a coward," she whispered. "I'm the coward because I was too afraid you'd hate me and never speak to me to even come and say I was sorry."

Severus moved closer to her, and put his hand timidly on her shoulder. "I forgive you," he said. "I'll admit it I was a bit put out because of your decision. But your friends, you care very much about them. I shouldn't have started things between you three. I had only wanted revenge on Lupin and his friends. So, for that, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I just want to get past this."

"Do you think we can start over?" he asked.

"What about…."

"What?"

"What about  _Lily?_ "

"She's was childhood friend, and that's all she will ever be to me. And if you'll recall, she doesn't exactly think too highly of me after last year. Besides," he looked up at her. "I don't have the same feelings toward her as I do you."

Rose looked up at him again, a lump forming in her throat. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded. He gave a small smile before wrapping his arms around her, hugging her gently to him. Rose buried her head into his chest trying to hide her tears as she hugged him back, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt better than she had in months. She had Severus back in her life.

Right now, that's all that mattered.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Great Hall, the ball was in full swing. Couples were on the dance floor and on the sides of the hall at the tables, some dancing, some just talking. Sirius and Cassie were on the dance floor, their arms wraps around each other, Cassie's head resting on Sirius's shoulder as the band continued to play a ballad.

"So are you having fun?" Sirius asked quietly.

Cassie lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

Sirius smiled and kissed her nose. "No reason, just making sure I'm not a horrible date."

Cassie snorted as he pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapped around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder again. They continued to dance, both looking around for their friends. Sirius spotted James, still with his date, James whispering something to her that only she could hear. Cassie found her brother and best friend dancing across the hall, their foreheads resting against each other and whispering to each other.

"Everybody looks so happy," Cassie said. "If it was only like this all the time."

Sirius sighed and pulled her closer. "We should enjoy it while it lasts."

Cassie pulled away from him enough to look at him with a confused look. There were so many ways she took those words. Was he talking about the fact that he was graduating Hogwarts next year? Or was he beginning to lose interest in her, and was getting ready to say goodbye for good?

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"It's just…James received a letter from his parents, you know they're both Aurors, and…this war with You-Know-Who is starting to get worse," he said quietly. "The Auror Department is doing everything they can to prepare the Wizarding World if a major attack happens and it's not enough. There's been talk of people - Dumbledore included - starting a group to help stop him."

"Sirius, please, don't talk about this tonight-"

"If something ever happens to you-"

" _Nothing_ is going to happen, Sirius," Cassie said firmly. "Can we just not talk about this  _now_? Can we just have fun and not worry about anything else…just for tonight."

Sirius sighed and nodded. "Yeah…sure," he whispered.

She looked up at him once more before resting her head on his chest once more, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

"I love you, Cassie," Sirius said softly a few minutes later.

"I love you, too, Sirius."

He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him. She returned his kiss and broke away, still holding onto him.

* * *

As the song went off, the crowd dispersed as the band started another slow song. Remus and Liz remained on the dance floor, her hands around his neck, his around her waist as they began to sway to the music. Liz closed her eyes, resting her head on Remus's chest as the song continued.

"Liz?"

She looked up at Remus, his eyes looking into hers.

"Yeah?"

He sighed and continued to look at her. "I know we're young and have our whole lives ahead of us but…would you understand if I said you were the only one I wanted to spend the rest of it with?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wide, heart beating fast. She'd been wanting to tell him that she loved him for weeks, but felt that it was too soon to say anything, afraid it would have had him running in the opposite direction screaming. But now…

"I think understand," she replied, a lump forming in her throat. "Would you understand if I said I felt the same way?"

Remus smiled brightly. "I love you, Liz. I think I have for a while."

She returned his smile and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, too, Remus. Always will."

He bent down and pressed his lips to hers softly, kissing her passionately. They stay embraced until the song ended, and returned to their seats as a faster song began. Sirius and Remus disappeared to grab drinks, and Liz sat down with Cassie, a huge grin on her face.

"Well, I'll take that as your night is going fairly well," Cassie mused.

"He said he loved me, Cassie." Liz looked at her best friend in awe. "You don't think it's too soon, do you?"

"Sirius said he loved me three months into our relationship. You're just a month behind us." Cassie smiled. "Should I start preparing for the wedding?"

"You're hilarious."

"I like to think so." Cassie glanced at Liz. "You did say it back, right?"

"Of course I did! Do you think I'd leave him hanging like that?"

"I would hope not."

Liz looked over to where Sirius and Remus were talking to James, who was nursing his left cheek. His date was nowhere to be seen. "Well, it looks like James is flying solo again," Cassie commentated.

"I wonder what he said to his date."

"2 galleons that it involves Lily."

"I would take that bet if it was public knowledge that James Potter was in love with Lily Evans."

The two were laughing and still commenting on James' lack of dating skills when Remus and Sirius joined them. "What are you two laughing about?" Sirius asked.

"James and his lack of charm."

"You could make an entire program on the Wireless about that."

The four laughed before each couple returned to the dance floor.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't done much with Rose, and figured I would shed some light onto her character and her relationship with Severus. I hate Canon-Snape for more reasons than I could ever list. This fic's Marauder-Era Severus is still a slimy git and will still wind up being a Death Eater, he's just not as obsessed with Lily this go-around.
> 
> I really struggled with this chapter. Maybe it's my own hatred of school dances in high school that held me back. Even editing it and adding some dialogue doesn't make me like this chapter any more.


	10. Trust

_Back with Harry…_

* * *

Harry had sat listening to the two remaining Marauders with interest, but had kept silent until now. "Wait, you mean somebody actually  _liked_ _Snape_?"

The older former Gryffindors nodded. "Cassie and Liz could never figure out what Rose saw in the old bat," Sirius said. "And if they didn't understand, we didn't either."

"What happened after the ball?"

Sirius smirked and looked at Remus. "What exactly  _did_ happen after the ball, Moony?"

Remus glared. "How many times am I going to say that nothing happened?"

Harry looked between the two confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, Remus and Liz disappeared  _way_ ahead of Cassie and I, then returned to Gryffindor Tower about three in the morning." Sirius explained, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

Remus rolled his eyes at his best friend. "We went to the Room of Requirement for a little while, and  _that's all_."

"Nothing…at all?" Harry looked at his former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with a skeptical look.

Sirius started to laugh as Remus continued to give him a hard look. "Are you happy?" he said, annoyed.

"Thrilled."

"After the ball, nothing really happened," Remus continued with the story. "We continued to pull our pranks, James and Sirius continued to annoy Severus and stay in detention, and all of us stayed together, even through most of the full moons."

"Most? Did Liz ever see you after a full moon?"

"After a couple of months, we would meet when I returned, yes."

"Did she…" Harry looked at Remus, not certain on how to word his question, or how the older wizard would take it. "Did she ever see you badly injured from a full moon?"

Remus sighed. "Once."

"How bad was it?"

"It was a little over a year after the ball and it was one of only fights we ever had…"

* * *

Liz made her way up to the Astronomy Tower, pulling her cloak closer as the winter wind blew in her face. Remus had just returned from the full moon, and as they had been doing all year, she was on her way to see him. She crept up the stairs, opening the door and stepping onto the battlements, seeing Remus leaning against the turrets weakly, his gaze out at the grounds.

"Remus?" Liz spoke softly as she came closer, but the harshness of Remus's response made her stop.

"Don't…come any closer."

"Are you alright?" she asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Liz, I'm…I'm fine."

Liz couldn't help but feel hurt at the way he was acting…he'd never been harsh with her before. She stood in the same place as Remus moved from the turret, limping and favoring his right side, his hands pressing hard against his ribs. He kept his face turned from her and he walked farther down the battlements.

"I lost control," he said quietly. "Last night, I got away from Sirius and James. I must have caught somebody's scent, it's the only other time I've done this. I went after them. They had to use violence, put their lives in danger, just to get me back to the Shrieking Shack."

Liz looked up at him wide-eyed, concern and worrying filling her. Timidly, she took another step closer to him. "But you didn't attack anybody, and that's what matters, right?" she asked.

"It's the fact that I lost control, Liz," Remus said. "I can't trust myself right now."

Finally, his shoulders slumped and he turned to face her. The left side of his face was covered with bruises and gashes. His lip was a bit swollen and his right eye was black, though it was starting to go back to normal. He looked away from her and shook his head.

"I never wanted you to see me like this, Liz," he whispered.

She looked at him in fear, her eyes brimmed tears. She took a step closer to him, wanting so bad to reach out and hug him and comfort him, but was terrified she'd put him in more pain. "Remus," she spoke in a whisper, her voice not able to go any higher. "This wasn't your fault, you can't help that this happened."

He sighed and shook his head again. "Exactly, I have no control! If I had attacked somebody, I would have never been able to forgive myself. They keep promising this potion is nearly complete, but what if that's not enough? What if it had been Sirius? Or James? Or Cassie? Or…" he looked up at her, pain in his eyes. "What if it had been you."

"But nothing-"

"Nothing happened this time, but Liz, I can't take that risk."

Liz looked at him, taking notice of his choice of words. "Remus, what are you trying to say?"

He closed his eyes for a moment before responding. "I'm saying, until I can make sure I have control of myself, until I can make sure I can control myself, I think it's best if we…if we're not together. It's the only way I know you'll be safe from me."

"That's not true," Liz said quickly. "You know it's not. Please, I can help you. I've almost mastered my animagus form. Don't shut me out."

"I can't risk hurting you."

"And this isn't considered hurting me?" she choked out.

"I'm protecting you, Liz, it's the only way," he snapped. He knew he was lying to himself; the last thing he wanted to do was push her away. He couldn't trust himself right now, and some part of his mind was convinced he was doing the right thing.

They stood in silence for several seconds before Liz spoke up. "You're not doing this for me, or for us," she said, a hint of anger in her voice.

Remus looked up at her, surprised. "What?"

"You're not trying to protect me, you're doing this for you, because you don't know how to trust yourself." She crossed her arms and shook her head.

"I don't want to see you going through this every month," Remus retorted.

"Do you think that Sirius would push Cassie away if he were in your shoes?"

"Liz…"

"Answer the question, dammit."

"Yes, I do. He would want to make sure she was safe and protected."

"No, he wouldn't," Liz took a step closer to him. "You're a coward, Remus, and I thought you actually loved me enough to realize I never would care about something like this. Or that I could take care of myself."

With that, Liz pushed past him, not giving her words a second thought as she let the door to the stairs slam behind her. Remus looked after her, starting to wonder if he just lost the one girl that he'd ever seen a future with.

* * *

The next morning, Cassie couldn't help but notice how different Liz seemed. Usually after seeing Remus when he returned, she was more at ease, and was very talkative at breakfast. This morning, she avoided anybody's eye contact, and only spoke to respond to Cassie.

Sighing, she sat down her goblet and looked over at Liz. "Is he doing okay?" she asked.

Liz looked at her confused. "What?"

"Remus? You know, my brother? Your boyfriend? Did he make it through okay?"

Liz shrugged and looked down at her plate, stabbing at her toast. "I guess."

"You guess?" Cassie glanced over at the Gryffindor table, not seeing her brother among the other students. "Is everything okay, Liz?

"With what?"

"You and Remus, obviously."

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't know how you and Remus-"

"He broke it off last night, and I don't want to talk about it," Liz said shortly. She didn't give Cassie time to react but stood up, and started for the exit. Cassie followed her, catching up as they reached the doors.

"You're kidding, right? Remus would never do that," she said in confidence, waiting for Liz to look at her and smile, then say she was joking. When Liz never replied, she looked at her in surprise. "But, I thought you two were okay."

"Well, so did I. Apparently one bad night is enough for him to think he's a monster and throw our whole bloody future away."

"Well, what did you say to him?" Cassie asked.

"I called him a coward."

Cassie fell silent, watching her best friend carefully. Liz had a hard look in her eyes, and Cassie couldn't help but notice that when she spoke it was in a short, harsh tone.

"Just give him a couple of days," Cassie said. "He'll come around."

"I doubt it."

"Oh, stop being dramatic, the both of you. He loves you, but he's a guy. They're a bit thick."

Liz scoffed. "I honestly do not care right now, Cassie."

"Liz, you don't believe that."

"Yes, I do."

With that, Liz left her best friend at the entrance of Hufflepuff Tower, saying she was going to work on a paper for Charms. Cassie watched her go, wondering how things would ever go back to normal.

* * *

It didn't take long for James and Sirius to notice something was wrong with Remus. They hadn't said anything the night when he had returned to Gryffindor Tower early. But now a few days later, they could tell by the sullen expressions and sudden irritability that something was wrong.

"Moony?" Sirius finally asked after their friend slammed the top of his trunk too hard.

"Sirius."

Sirius took the fact that Remus didn't call him "Padfoot" as a sign. "Did something happen the other night between you and Liz?" he asked timidly. "You seem a bit off and Cassie acts like she's hacked at both of you."

Remus turned his back to his friends, his shoulder's squared and voice hard as he spoke. "I broke it off with her."

"What?" the two Marauders said, looking at Remus with shocked expressions.

"Why?" James asked.

"You know why, and I don't have to explain myself."

"All of this because the bloody full moon?"

"Remus, girlfriend or not, that would have still happened," Sirius said quietly.

"That's not the whole reason I broke it off," Remus snarled.

James and Sirius flinched at Remus's sudden tone. The two fell silent as Remus continued, this time in a softer tone. "Liz deserves more, someone better than me. If she stays with me, she'll lose everything. I can't let her throw away her life for someone like me." His shoulders slumped as he continued to face away from his friends.

There was silence and then…

THUNK.

"Ow, you bloody idiot!" Remus howled, holding his head and looking at the discarded Snitch on the ground that Sirius had thrown. "What was that for?"

_"You know why, and I don't have to explain myself,"_  Sirius repeated what Remus had said moments before. "You know bloody well that you love her! You're just paranoid because you haven't lost control since you were younger."

Remus glared at Sirius, who glared back at his best friend. He brushed past his two friends and stormed down the stairs. He made his way through the common room and to through the corridors, heading for his spot by the lake. He needed to be alone, to think clearly about everything.

He made it to the third floor when he heard his name being called.

"What?" he shouted, rounding on the person. He softened his expression however once he saw who had called after him.

"Oh, hey, Cassie."

She didn't respond, but glared and crossed her arms. Remus sighed, knowing what was coming. Finally, she spoke.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Cassie -"

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to her right now? Just because you're being too cautious and paranoid or whatever is going through that idiot mind of yours to let anybody who cares about you, you're pushing away the one person I've ever seen you have feelings for!"

Remus looked down at his younger sister in surprise. "Cassie, you don't understand."

"Yes, I do. You're being an idiot."

"I'm sorry I'm trying to save your best friend," he snarled.

She narrowed her eyes at Remus. "By pushing her away?" she asked incredulously. "Remus…she  _loves_ you."

"I'm saving her from being an outcast! If she stays with me, she has no future…"

Cassie didn't respond. She gave her brother a hard look and without warning…

SMACK.

She hit Remus in the back of the head, causing him to swear out loud.

"Bloody hell, why does everybody keep hitting me?" he exclaimed, holding the side of his head.

"You thick-headed, daft moron!" Cassie grounded out. "You're so blinded by your own paranoia that you can't see  _anything_!" She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again, her voice not as harsh. "Did you ever think Liz  _doesn't_   _care_?"

"She'd be throwing everything away. A career, a family, a  _happy_ future," Remus said quietly, running a hand through his hair and across his face. "You read the Daily Prophet, you saw all of the laws they're trying to pass on people like me! I…I just can't…"

"She's right. You are a coward."

"What in the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? I'm trying to keep her safe!"

"Remus, Liz loves you, she's proved that many times over the past year. I know that you feel the same…the whole school can see you love her. Did you ever think that her future, her idea of a family, is with  _you_?"

He stayed silent, his head hanging down as he thought about what his sister just said. He had seen Liz in his future once, but that was before everything happened. In the past few days he thought he was keeping her safe. Cassie was right, he had been too concerned on keeping Liz safe that he didn't take in that he was really hurting her.

"Why are you always right?" he grumbled.

Cassie smirked slightly. "Because I'm the cool younger sister," she responded. She gave a small smile before expression became serious once more. "Liz is completely different, Remus. She's became her own worst enemy, and you need to fix it."

Remus nodded, a guilty feeling form in his chest, a lump in his throat. "How bad have I messed things up?" he asked quietly.

"On a scale from 1 to 10, ten being the worst?"

"Sure."

"18."

Remus groaned. "Fantastic," he mumbled. He turned to go. "See you later, sis."

"Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"You, may want to avoid Rose."

"Is she…"

"Worst than the last time? Yeah."

He sighed. He wanted to fix things, he just didn't know how.

* * *

Remus attempted to find the best way to explain his actions to Liz. But each time he tried, he couldn't find the right words or she was with Cassie and Rose. Cassie wasn't as put out with him as he thought, though she kept urging him to just use his Gryffindor courage and tell her.

Rose, on the other hand, was a bit hostile toward him. Though she tried to keep her emotions at bay in front of Cassie, the younger Slytherin would give him the most hateful glare she could muster when they passed. There had been a time when the two had run into each other on the way to classes. She had all but yelled how he had screwed up, and vocalized what she would have done to him if it weren't for little factors (like Cassie and Professor McGonagall, who had chosen that moment to pass through).

January and half of February had passed by the time Remus had the courage to finally talk to Liz. It was Valentine's Day, and a Hogsmeade weekend had been set. Sirius was meeting Cassie later that day as she and Rose were going to spend time without their respective boyfriends around.

"Is Liz going with you three?" Remus had asked as he walked with his sister the day before the trip.

"No. She flat out refuses to leave the castle that day," Cassie said, shooting her older brother a hard look. "It's like when Rose and Snape weren't talking to each other, only worse."

"Worse?" Remus looked down at the floor, avoiding his sister's gaze.

"Come on, Remus…you  _know_ Liz. She's always bouncy and trying to make people laugh, but you're lucky to get her to crack a real smile lately."

He stopped and sighed, running a hand over his face. "This is my fault," he muttered.

"Yeah, it is," Cassie admitted. "I think it's time you fixed it."

"I would if I knew how."

"Gee, start off with, 'I'm sorry, Liz, I was a prat,' and hope she doesn't hex you."

"Would she really-"

"Yes, she would."

Remus sighed. "Why are you pushing this so much? Not that I don't want her back…can't you let me do this on my own time?"

"Because I'm tired of seeing my brother and best friend being miserable," Cassie said, "Just find her and talk to her. Before it's too late."

Remus watched his sister walk off, fighting a silent battle in his mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rose was on a mission of her own. Though she realized that she had been the same way when she and Severus had stopped talking, seeing Liz constantly depressed was too much. She and Cassie had many discussions about it, both attempting to pull their friend from her usual dark corner in the library (where she had began to hide) or from the Astronomy Tower. Cassie even threatened to hex her once or twice, but nothing helped.

She had checked the Library, not finding her Hufflepuff friend there, meaning she was on top of the Astronomy Tower. She made her way up the spiral staircase to the battlements of the tower, finding Liz looking out onto the grounds, completely unaware that she wasn't alone anymore.

"Liz?"

She turned around, her wand out and pointing at Rose. The Slytherin raised her hands in front of her.

It's just me," she said.

"Sorry," Liz mumbled, putting her wand back into the pocket of her robes. "I didn't hear you."

"It's alright." Rose walked up to the turret, standing beside Liz who avoided her gaze. She looked out at the grounds, watching the people who had braved going ice skating on the lake skate away from the Giant Squid that was chasing them below the frozen water.

"Where's Cassie?" Liz asked, looking around and noticing their other friend wasn't present.

Rose shrugged. "Probably with Sirius," she responded. "That, or trying to talk to her brother."

At the mention of Remus, Liz looked away again. "Oh," she said shortly.

Rose sighed, knowing there wasn't any use putting off why she'd come. "Liz, this has to stop," she said softly.

Liz didn't respond. Rose sighed again and shook her head.

"Come on, Liz, I know you're upset, but we're really worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Liz turned away from Rose and walked to the other side of turret. Rose followed her, still trying to get her point across.

"Before all of this happened, you were always laughing, trying to crack jokes, and being…well,  _you_ _._ Ever since you and Remus broke up, you've made yourself a recluse! We have to beg you to hang out with us for more than a couple of minutes. You fake half of your enjoyment, and when you are actually having fun, you shut yourself off so quick someone would think they broke your wand in half!"

Liz turned around to face Rose, giving her a hateful look through her tears. "Go away, Rose."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I want you to talk to me! You never talk to us anymore."

"There's nothing to talk about. We broke up. End of story."

"Please, Liz, Cassie and I are concerned about you."

"Just…leave me alone, Rosalina."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Fine,  _Elizabeth_ ," she seethed. "When you find my best friend  _Liz_ again, tell her she has two very concerned friends trying to reach out to her and help. Until then, have fun brooding."

She felt guilty, having snapped at her best friend. She made it down to spiral staircase that led to the seventh floor corridor when she heard Liz call out.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

Rose turned around and looked up the stairs, seeing Liz at the top. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as she sat on the top step. Rose sighed and back up, sitting beside her. "It's okay," Rose said quietly. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"I deserved it."

"Sometimes harsh words are for the best. But Remus will come to his senses. It's just a matter of time."

Liz shook her head and sighed. "Maybe if I hadn't been busy acting melodramatic, I could have been trying to talk to him."

"You were hurt, trust me, I know the feeling."

"I'm sorry I've acted like a prat to you and Cassie."

"It's okay."

"I'm still not going to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"We gathered that after the 12th 'no' we got," Rose said, giving a small smile.

"It's not because I don't want to."

"Liar."

"Okay, fine," Liz muttered. "I  _d_ _o_ want to go, but I've put off my Transfiguration paper all week. It's due Monday first thing morning and if I don't do it tomorrow, it won't get finished at all."

"Did you do that intentionally, Liz?" Rose asked.

"No," Liz mumbled, not meeting Rose's gaze.

"Well, there's a bit of the old Liz," she said. "It's a start, I guess."

Liz gave a small smile – an actual smile this time. "I'm working on it, okay?"

"Wow, two changes in five minutes," Rose said, looking impressed. "What can you accomplish in an hour?"

"Shut it."

"Another sign that she still exists."

Liz shook her head, giving Rose a one-armed hug. Rose hugged her back before standing up.

"Come on, let's show your improvement to Cassie. Who knows, by the time we find her, your split personality of Elizabeth may be gone."

"Actually, I think…I'm going to go talk to Remus."

Rose blinked several times and looked at Liz in shock. "I yell at you for being distant and it sparks you to return to normal and find the person who  _caused_ it?" she asked, bewildered. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need a visit to St. Mungo's?"

"I'm not crazy," Liz said, walking past Rose and down the corridor of the seventh floor.

"You could have fooled me." Rose muttered.

"I'm just going to find him and tell him what a prat he was."

"We've been telling him that for the past month."

"Maybe the right person hasn't told him."

"I thought you did that the night he broke it off? You know Sirius hit him with a Snitch and Cassie smacked him. What are you going to do to him?" Rose asked.

"You just don't know, now do you?"

"Do I really  _want_  to know?"

Liz smirked. "Probably not."

Rose sighed and followed Liz down the staircases and to the entrance hall, where students were making their way into the Great Hall for dinner. The two friends looked around the hall, spotting Cassie with Sirius and Remus by the hourglasses, speaking in hushed voices. Liz headed for them, Rose following close by.

"Liz, seriously, what are you  _really_ going to do?" she asked again.

Liz ignored her, but weaved her way through the students, a determined look in her eye. Cassie spotted her first, then Sirius. Remus was oblivious, however, until she was ten feet from him.

"Liz…I was actually-" Remus started, looking at his sister for some help. Cassie shrugged.

Liz stopped in front of Remus, who gave her with a nervous look, not knowing what to do or say. She shook her head and then without warning,

_SMACK_.

She smacked him.

"What was that for?" Remus howled, holding his cheek.

"Remus John Lupin, you are the most paranoid, senseless fool I've ever met!" Liz yelled. "If it's taken you this long to figure out that I would drop  _everything_  for you, I-"

She was cut off from her rant when he bent down and kissed her to silence her, not caring that he was in the middle of the Entrance Hall or in front of his friends.

"Come on, WHY do I have to witness every time you two decide to make out?" Cassie said loudly.

Remus pulled away, and ignored his sister. "I was actually going to find you. I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I shouldn't have been a git to you."

"I shouldn't have called you a coward," Liz apologized. "You were just trying to protect me, just in the wrong way."

"Well, it seems like you two could use some alone time," Sirius said with a grin, grabbing Cassie's hand and pulling her away. Cassie looked at the two of them and gave a bright smile before letting Sirius pull her away. Rose muttered something about dinner and walked into the Great Hall, glancing back at the two and shaking her head before disappearing.

Remus turned back to Liz, still holding his cheek.

"Sorry about that."

"I think I deserved it." Remus gave her a sheepish smile before taking her hands into his. "Can you forgive me?" he asked softly.

"I forgive you, Remus, but promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't ever do that to me again."

"Deal." Remus smiled, hugging her to him. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too." she muttered, before kissing him on the cheek and pulling away.

He pulled her back to him, kissing her similar to before, this time slowly and more passionately, placing a hand gently on her cheek to deepen it. She returned the kiss with the same aggressiveness, wrapping her arms around his neck, both of them oblivious to standing in the Entrance Hall once more. People began to cat call at them, until an authoritative figure spoke up.

"Miss Mallory and Mr. Lupin!"

The broke apart, looking at Professor McGonagall, who was looking at the two of them with a mixed expression of harshness and happiness. With Remus being in her house, she had caught wind of the drama between the two.

"As both of you should very well know from being former prefects, extreme public displays of affection are frowned upon in the corridors and halls of the school," she said, her anger half-hearted. "I have no other choice but to give you both detention. Tomorrow night, my office, 8 o'clock."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," they both chorused. She gave a small smile at the two before heading into the Great Hall. Liz and Remus looked at each other and started laughing, Remus wrapping his arm around her waist as they walked into the Great Hall together.


	11. Questions, Answers, and Surprises

_Back with Harry…_

* * *

"There's one thing I've been wondering about," Harry said. He had been sitting at the table in the kitchen, his head resting on his hands as Sirius and Remus spoke. Sirius had been making tea as Remus finished talking.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"You said that Cassie had been an animagus. What about the other two? Did they ever master their form?"

"Liz did. If Rose accomplished it, we never knew."

"What was Liz's form?"

Sirius grinned. "I think that's a great transition into our story, Moony. Tell us about the day that Liz mastered her form."

Remus smiled, and after taking a sip of the hot drink Sirius put in front of him, continued with his story.

"Well, it was the summer after we finished school. Liz had a month left before they returned to Hogwarts for their final year..."

* * *

"Alright, let's try again."

"Remus, this is pointless."

"You almost had it, just concentrate."

Liz sighed and tossed the book to the side. They were in her bedroom at her house. She and Remus had been trying for the past couple of hours to unlock her animagus form. The last time, she had felt something inside, almost like a soaring sensation, but that was as close as she'd gotten.

"Now, you said you felt a soaring sensation," Remus said, picking up the book that she thrown and leafing through the pages. "That usually means your form will be some kind of bird. So, this time, close your eyes, and concentrate on flying."

"I'm not going to start flapping my arms, just so you're aware."

Remus chuckled. "I promise I won't laugh if that helps you along the way."

Liz glared, but smiled before closing her eyes. She took in a deep breath and focused on what Remus was saying.

"Remember, it takes practice and patience. Concentrate on flying. How the wind feels beneath your wings. Now, remember what you read about the transformation. Take in a deep breath, and let your magic build up around those thoughts. Do you feel like you have a pocket of power that needs to be released?" Liz nodded. "Alright. Take in a deep breath, let that power and magic with those thoughts combine, and breath out!"

Liz did as Remus said, and felt herself on the ground. She opened her eyes and looked up at Remus, who was staring down at her in awe. She tried to speak and ask him what happened, but she couldn't get the words out. Instead, her question came out in a soft hoot.

"You did it!" Remus shouted. "I told you it could happen!"

Liz looked around, and spread her arm – no her wings – out. She hopped over to the mirror that stood by her door and looked at her appearance. Her feathers were a deep greyish-black on top, the feathers on her stomach were white, with broad, broken streaks of black.

"Now, this is the hard part," Remus said. "You need to transform back. Think about what were thinking of when you transformed, but this time, think about returning to human form. It's just the process in reverse."

It took less time for Liz to transform to human that it had turning into an owl. She swayed on her feet, and Remus stepped closer to steady her. She felt like she was slightly drained of energy, which was something the book had said would happen the first time she managed to successfully transform.

"How are you feeling?" Remus asked.

"A bit lightheaded," she admitted. "I think I need to sit down."

Before she could move toward her bed, Remus picked her up. Alarmed by the sudden movement she shrieked, but wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You know, I can walk ten feet across the room," she said. "But I can get used to this."

"I'll carry you anytime," Remus said, laying her on the bed.

"Sounds like the beginning to a song. Maybe you could form a band."

Remus laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Now here," he rummaged around in the knapsack that he'd brought with him and handed her a piece of Honeyduke's best chocolate. "It'll help."

"What is it with you and chocolate?" she asked, sitting up and breaking a small piece off.

He shrugged. "Madam Pomfrey would give it to me after a full moon. It helped considerably, so I would keep a supply around for all occasions. You wouldn't believe how well it helps during exams."

"I'll keep that in mind," Liz said after she swallowed a piece. "Thank you."

"For what?" Remus sat down at the edge of the bed and giving her a curious look.

"For helping me with my training. I wouldn't been able to do it without you."

"Well, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help my girlfriend break about a dozen Ministry laws?" he said with a grin before kissing her quickly.

"James and Sirius have  _definitely_  had a bad influence on you." Liz grinned. "Come on, it's a beautiful day and we shouldn't be spending it inside."

"Are you feeling okay now?" Remus looked at her in concern.

Liz nodded and jumped up, pulling on Remus's arm. "Grab your bag, I'm going to grab a book and sneak a pitcher of pumpkin juice from the kitchen. Mum and Dad aren't going to miss it. The hammock in the back yard is calling our names."

Remus shook his head and let her drag him downstairs and after a quick stop in the kitchen where they found a few bottles of Butterbeer instead of pumpkin juice, headed outside. With Liz's parents being influential people in the Ministry, they had a reasonable sized place. Liz's favorite place was the backyard, where trees surrounded their entire property. Near the house grew two oak trees, where Liz had begged her parents for a hammock. It was where she spent most of her summer days.

The two climbed into the hammock, sitting across from each other. It was becoming one of their pas times of the summer. They were content with just being with each other, sometimes reading (like now) or just being in each others arms for hours at time in silence, knowing they wouldn't have the chance come September when Liz was at school.

About an hour of silent reading and occasionally poking each other playfully in the ribs with their feet, Remus spoke up. "Liz?"

"Yeah?" she asked, putting her book down on the outdoor table she'd levitated from the patio.

He sighed and sat up from. "Are…are you sure your mum and dad are alright with me being here while they're at work?" he asked.

She looked at him confused. "They've finally gotten used to the fact you're my boyfriend. Why do you ask?"

"Well, the last time I was here... _"_

"If you're talking about the way my father reacted when we told him–"

"Your father didn't seem like he was okay with things, Liz."

She sighed. They had finally broken down and told Liz's parents about Remus being a werewolf when Liz came home for summer break. They had been concerned, Liz's father more that her mother. Mr. Mallory had gone as far as yelling at her for an hour one night that she should consider her future and what she doing. It had taken both Liz and her mother to convince him to leave matters alone, and Liz tearfully threatening to move out before he calmed down, and a day of giving him the silent treatment before he grudgingly approved of their relationship.

"I told you, Dad doesn't care anymore, or at least he doesn't act it. And that was two months ago."

"As long as you're sure it's okay."

"Don't worry, okay? Besides, Mum sent an owl and said they had to stay for some meeting, so they'll be late getting home anyway."

Remus nodded and moved to where he was laying next Liz, kissing her quickly. She kissed him back before picking up her book, turning to the page she had placed her bookmark. Getting so engrossed into her book, she barely registered Remus asking to see her left hand. It wasn't until she felt him slide something onto her ring finger that she looked up at him and then down at her hand.

It was a simple ring, with a silver band and a single caret diamond snugly in the middle. She blinked a few times before looking up at Remus. "Remus, what's going on?" she asked slowly.

Remus swallowed a lump in his throat before removing the book from Liz's hands and linking his fingers with hers. "Please bare with me for a moment, because I honestly have planned asking you this a million times in my head, and I wasn't satisfied with any of them. And something in my mind told me I didn't need to make this a flashy ordeal. When I tried to push you away earlier this year, I was afraid I was taking away your future, your dreams of a family and a normal life. It took our friends and especially my sister to physically drill it into my head that you didn't care. And it occurred to me that as long as  _you_ were part of  _my_ future, that we were both happy. I know we can't make it official until next year when you're finished with school but...will you marry me?"

Liz's eyes had filled with tears as Remus had spoken. She looked down at the ring on her hand, and back up to the man in front of her. He was looking back at her nervously, his eyes giving her an anxious look.

Finally, she nodded.

"Yes," she whispered. "I'll marry you."

He broke into a bright smile, leaning up and kissing her passionately on the lips and hugging her. Of course, the movement was too much for the hammock and the swing tilted over, dumping Remus and Liz onto the ground.

"Well, I certainly didn't plan for this to happen," Remus groaned. They looked at each other and burst into laughing.

"Well, at least our friends will get a kick out of the story," Liz chortled as Remus helped her to her feet. After making sure they were both unharmed, Remus kissed her and held her close, thanking Merlin that he managed to survive.

* * *

"Cassie, she's doing it again."

Cassie looked up from the book she'd been reading at looked at Liz. "Oh, come on Liz, I think you've stared at that ring so much that you know it better than you do us."

"That's not true."

"Okay, fine. But can you control your attention deficit disorder long enough to focus on the upcoming school year?"

Cassie, Liz, and Rose were in their usual compartment on the Hogwarts Express, riding to their seventh and final year without the company of Sirius, Remus, and Severus. The summer after their boyfriend's last year at school had been mixed. With the battle of You-Know-Who getting more powerful and starting a war with the Wizarding World people were being forced to make a decision on whose side they would fight for. So far, none of them had made a decision, which was a relief to the girls. It seemed that the only good news they had gotten was the Remus and Liz's engagement.

Also, with them being out of school, the Marauders and their classmates had to find jobs. James and Sirius had both gone into the Auror Department and Severus was working in an Apothecary shop in Diagon Alley, where he was also under an apprenticeship of a well-known Potions Master. With Remus being affected by his lycanthropy, it was a bit more difficult for people to trust him on a job. It took Dumbledore's pull within the Ministry and Liz to do some pleading with her mother, who agreed to talk to somebody to get him into a lower level of the Department of Magical Transportation.

Since the train had left King's Cross, Liz had been looking down at the ring on her finger and letting her mind drift off to the day Remus proposed. That had been her best memory of the summer. But she had a feeling her friends were getting tired of her fawning over the golden band.

"Yeah, Liz," Rose said. "We know your attention is distracted by shiny things, but it's our last year. You need to be focused."

"Yes, ma'am, Head Girl."

"And stop throwing that in my face every five minutes! It's not like I  _asked_ to be Head Girl," Rose grumbled.

"I'm still trying to figure out how one of  _us_ managed to  _be_ Head Girl," Cassie muttered, going back to her book.

"Because even Dumbledore knew better than to put Liz in charge."

"Excuse me, but I was a Prefect too!" Liz protested indignantly.

"She's got a point," Cassie responded from behind her book.

Liz rolled her eyes at her friends and looked out the window, secretly looking down at her ring. But not secret enough from Rose.

"Cassie…"

"Liz, I am going to take that ring and send it back to Remus if you don't-"

"No!" Liz said quickly, hiding her left hand by sticking it in her robes pocket.

"Then find a new distraction!"

"Fine," she muttered, and stood up and opened her trunk, pulling out  _Hogwarts: A History_ and flipping to her bookmark. But when she saw that her friends were too caught up in their own activities, she'd sneak a glance at it and smile.

* * *

_December_

It was the last Hogsmeade visit before the Christmas Holidays. Liz and Cassie had decided to some Christmas shopping before Sirius and Remus showed up to see them (Rose had once again stayed at Hogwarts, but this time against her own will; being Head Girl had sacrifices, after all). The two were talking about plans for the wedding when the date came up.

"Have you two even thought about a date yet?" Cassie asked as they walked through the snow-covered village.

"Not really," Liz said. "All I know is he wanted to wait until school is finished, so after June for sure. We're supposed to talk about it over break."

"I still can't believe you're marrying my brother."

"I can't either. I can't believe I'm getting married at all."

"Well, as long as my brother and best friend are happy, I can get used to it," Cassie said with a smile, giving Liz a one-armed hug.

"I don't how I'm going to plan this and try to find a job after school," Liz muttered as they stopped outside a shop and looked through the windows.

"That's why you have me and Rose, silly. And with two parents in high seats in the Ministry, I'm sure they can pull a few strings for you."

"I'd rather try to find employment without having to rely on my parents. Just once, I want to be seen as my own person."

"Well, there are a few scouts coming to our next game, if you were thinking of going the Professional Quidditch route."

Liz made a face. "That's okay. I'd rather write about Quidditch than play it. I mean, I loved playing the past few years, but it's not something I would want to do for the rest of my life."

"Well, have you thought about writing for the Daily Prophet? Or Witch Weekly? Merlin knows our gossip is better than the rubbish they print."

"There's an idea," she mused. "What about you?"

Cassie shrugged. "I thought about maybe working somewhere at the Ministry. Nothing like Sirius, but maybe somewhere else in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Well, it's a good thing we have another semester to think about it. I wonder if Professor Sprout is going to have another Career Meeting with us before the end?"

"Knowing Professor Sprout, she's probably celebrating the fact that we're graduating and out of her hair."

Liz laughed, and the two continued to look at the displays in the shop. She and Cassie walked through the stores, sometimes just to get out of the snow and wind, sometimes to find somebody the perfect Christmas gift. They talked more about the wedding and the rest of the school year until they headed to the Three Broomsticks to meet Sirius and Remus.

* * *

"Remus?"

"Yes, darling?"

Liz smiled, as she always did when used his pet name for her. "What do you think about having the wedding a year from today?"

The two had been trying to figure out a date for their wedding. The two had thought about a few months after they finished school, but Lily and James would be gone for the entire summer traveling before their own wedding in September, and Remus wanted his best friend in the wedding. When Liz and Cassie had been talking about the wedding in Hogsmeade, Liz thought about the idea of it being in winter. Actually, it had been Cassie hitting her in the head with a snowball that had inspired the idea of having it while it was snowing, but it was weather depending if that came true.

Remus looked up at her; the two were sitting in the kitchen at her parents' house, who were at the annual Ministry Christmas Ball that was hosted, which was where Sirius, Cassie, Lily, and James were. Remus had opted out, saying he and Liz had different plans, which had led the two sitting for hours trying to work on their wedding.

"A Christmas Eve Wedding?"

Liz nodded. "Our options are between October and December, unless we want to wait until the next spring."

"Do you  _really_  want to wait another year?" he asked, giving her a perplexed look.

"Not really, no," she admitted quietly. "But what do you think?"

"If it were up to me, I would have gone straight to the Ministry the day I asked you and gotten eloped," he said softly.

She looked at him in slight awe before kissing him on the cheek. "That's still an option, you know," she said mischievously.

"But…I want you to have an actual wedding, the way you've always wanted it," he protested, taking her hands into his and squeezing it gently. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime event, and I think having it next Christmas Eve is a good idea."

"Really?"

He bent down and kissed her softly. "I'm positive," he whispered.

She smiled and wrote down the date in the wedding planner that her mother gave them for an early Christmas gift. "So, we have a date," she said.

"Yes, we do."

"We can check that off the list, then."

Somewhere, a clock struck midnight. They listened to the chimes strike 12 in silence before Remus leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Liz," he murmured.

"Merry Christmas, Remus."

"You know, there  _is_  something else we can check off our list."

"What's that?" She looked at him curiously as he stood up.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

He reached out for her to take his hand. "Leave a note to your parents saying you'll be right back, and that you're with me. Since it's finally Christmas Day, I think it's safe to show you your present," he said with a grin.

She pulled a piece of parchment to her and wrote the note. Taking his hand and standing up, Liz was curious as to what he was about to do. He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Close your eyes, and don't open them until I say, okay?" he instructed.

She obeyed, closing her eyes and gripping his waist tightly as well, waiting for something to happen. She felt herself being apparated from her kitchen, and felt her feet hit a hard floor. She almost opened her eyes from reflex, but kept them shut. She felt Remus's hand leave her waist, and link fingers with her left hand as he told her to open her eyes.

She opened them, looking around. She was standing in a little flat, just big enough for a couple of people. The living room was connected to the kitchen, a bar dividing the hardwood floor and carpet of each room. A dining room could be seen beside the kitchen, and a small hallway led to the back where the bedroom, bathroom, and study were. She looked back at Remus, who was watching her expression with slight amusement.

"I've been staying with Sirius at his flat, so I could save up so much for a couple of months," he said quietly, his cheeks turning red. "I know that once you finish school in a few months we can't stay in two separate homes, nor would I want to, really, so I figured…this could be something else to check off our list."

"This is ours?" she whispered, looking around at the living room she was standing in, her eyes gazing at the rest of the flat.

"Yeah…it is."

Liz finally broke away from him and stepped into the living room, taking everything in. The walls were a bit plain, but knew that once she finished school they would have time to decorate the place as their own.

Remus rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I know it's a bit on the small side, and it's a little plain, and -"

He never finished his sentence as Liz threw her arms around his neck, toppling them to the couch he'd been standing by. "It's perfect," she said muffled into his neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, darling. I'm just glad you like it," he said with a chuckle, hugging her back and relieved at her reaction.

"I love it," she said, pulling away and giving him a quick kiss. She went to stand up, but Remus kept his grip on her and kissed her again. Besides, what was a better way to christen their new place than a snogging session?

Finally after several minutes, they broke apart and Remus gave her a tour, linking her fingers with his again. They walked around the flat, going through each room together, discussing ideas as to what they would do with each area. After planning decorations for the entire place, they apparated back to Liz's house. Her parents must have returned, for a note lay on Liz's planner from them wishing her Merry Christmas.

"It's late," he muttered, looking up at the clock. She followed his gaze, seeing that it was going on one in the morning; they had spent almost an hour looking at the flat. "I'd best be getting home."

She nodded reluctantly. "I'll see you in the morning?" she said quietly.

He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Of course."

Liz smiled and walked with him to the living room; due to his parents having anti-apparation charms on it, he no other option but to floo home. They stopped in the archway of the living room and dining room, and Liz glanced up to see the mistletoe her parents had put up.

Remus glanced up at it too, a small smile on his face as he pulled her close to him, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers gently. She kissed him back, her hands linking around his neck as his found her waist. They stayed embraced until the clock finally struck one. They broke apart, both breathing heavily, both looking into each others eyes. He kissed her again, this time on the forehead before whispering a last goodbye and heading to the fireplace, picking up some floo powder and disappearing in a flash of green flames.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We did a bit of time skipping in this chapter. Seeing as this was the girls' final year, and Sirius and Remus didn't hear all of the stories about their final year, they couldn't really talk about them could they? Also, since we don't have a lot of information on what it takes to become animagi, I just winged it. JKR, us fanfic writers need that information!


	12. Bells Will Be Ringing

_One Year Later,_

_December 23, 1979_

Snow was not falling like Liz had hoped, but a fresh coat of the white powder covered the ground a couple of nights before the wedding. Since they had decided to have the wedding at Liz's parents, the couple had been traveling between their flat in London to the countryside every day after work. Liz had gone into writing, now a correspondent for the Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic and it was easier for she and Remus to travel to work from their own place instead of staying with her parents.

The women were inside, finishing small details that would be hung and placed when the tent was completed. Even though Liz and her friends hadn't been particularly close to Lily, Liz had still been grateful when the redheaded woman offered to help with last minute details. Rose (who had only had perceptions about Lily through Severus) wasn't as friendly toward her as Cassie and Liz (since the men in their lives were close with James), but she was being nice for Liz's sake. Cassie and Liz talked to Lily as if she were a friend, mostly about how her pregnancy was going. The men were outside, putting up the tent for the wedding and reception. Even though it was the dead of winter, Liz was still adamant about having the ceremony outside. Luckily as wizards and witches, they could use a warming charm on the tent.

The past few months had been trying for the couple. After seeing how simple Lily and James had made their wedding to be, Liz and Remus had thought planning would be a breeze. But have seeing guest lists and various flower arrangements and the entire hassle of finding a gown and picking colors for the bridesmaids, colors for the actual wedding, and so many other things, the couple had been wishing they had taken a leaf out of Sirius and Cassie's book and just gotten eloped.

The war against Voldemort took a turn for the worse when Liz, Cassie, and Rose had finished Hogwarts, and the group of friends began to fear each day would be their last. Dumbledore had formed a group called the Order of the Phoenix, which they had all joined. They feared the Ministry was beginning to be infiltrated, and the number of people fighting against the war was shrinking each day. So many of their classmates had been severely injured or murdered, and many more had fled the country. Figuring there had been no time like the present, Sirius had asked Cassie to marry him a few days after she finished school and before Lily and James left for their trip, had gotten eloped in the Minister's office with their close friends as witnesses.

Lily and James returned from their trip and by September had also gotten married. Lily had announced she was pregnant two months later.

Despite war raging all around them, they were trying their best to live a normal life. Liz and Remus had been planning the wedding for an entire year, and figured that everybody could use a reason to celebrate, which was why they had go through with the big ceremony.

There was a crash outside and Liz, Cassie, Lily, and Rose had all jumped up, wands out and prepared to fight as they rushed outside. Instead of death eaters, they saw James, Sirius, and Remus on the ground, limbs tangled together and groaning while Liz and Remus's fathers laughed.

"What in the bloody hell are you three doing?" Liz shouted.

"Those three were paying more attention to the tent than to where they had been walking, and met in the middle when putting up the supporting beams," Mr. Mallory chuckled. "Don't worry, Liz, nothing is destroyed or broken."

"I'm not too sure about that," Sirius quipped. "Moony took the worst of that fall, James and I both landed on him. How are ya feeling, Remus?"

Remus groaned from underneath James and Sirius's weight. "I hate you both," came the muffled reply.

Liz through her hands up in the air and let out an exasperated, "Men!" before stalking back into the house, muttering something about needing a strong drink.

The girls looked at each other with a sympathetic look. Between her mother henpecking over minor details and the men goofing off, Liz was on the verge of becoming the bride-who-killed-the-wedding-party. "Liz, I think you need a break," Cassie said. "You're starting to lose it."

"Well, if people would just stop asking me eight thousand questions and the boys would act their age instead of their shoe size, I wouldn't be like this!" Liz cried. "If I knew everything was going to turn into a circus, literally when it comes to those three outside, I would have just agreed to Remus wanting to get eloped  _last_  Christmas!"

Cassie and Rose stared at her with wide eyes. Liz had never told them about that. Meanwhile, while Liz had started to breakdown, Lily had been fixing the former Hufflepuff a drink. "Here," she said, handing her a small glass. "It's firewhiskey with a small amount of calming draught. It will help with the nerves."

Liz gratefully took the glass and sipped from it. After a few seconds, she let out a deep breath, feeling more relaxed than she'd felt all week. "I may have to remember that one for work deadlines," she said. "Thanks, Lily."

Lily smiled and nodded. "It seems like James has to drink one of those mixtures at the end of every week. Especially since we found about this little one." She patted her still flat stomach. "I'm sure there will come a time for both of you when Sirius and Remus ask for the same remedy."

"How did you manage to do this?" Liz asked, sitting back down and gesturing the mountains of name cards and decorations surrounding them. "You and James made it seem so simple."

Lily laughed. "We just managed to hide the chaos from everybody. Plus our ceremony had been more for my mother's sake. She'd always wanted to plan a huge wedding for her daughters. Unfortunately I was the only one who actually allowed her to do such. So I let her make most of the executive decision. James and I were merely props in her grand scheme of ideas."

"I should have done that with my mother, except we don't agree on anything," Liz muttered. About that time, Mrs. Mallory hurried into the kitchen, holding out a list of entrees for the reception dinner.

"Elizabeth, I need you to confirm these are the two that you want served," she said, not looking up from her parchment. "And also I think it would be better for there to a couple of selections for wine instead of all champagne."

"Mum," Liz was thankful for the calming draught that Lily put in her drink, because she was sure this would have sent her over the edge. "I confirmed those selections two weeks ago, and then again one week ago, and  _again_  three days ago.  _I don't need to do it anymore_."

"You're right, I had completely forgotten," her mother checked those things off the list. "Now, I'm going to make sure Professor Dumbledore is going to officiate – I honestly had no idea he had that power, and leave you four to finish the decorations."

Liz nodded and let out a sigh, running her hands through her hair. "Case in point," she muttered.

About that time, Remus entered the kitchen, still rubbing his side where James and Sirius had landed on him. "The tent is finished. Your dad wanted me to let you know that the reception decorations can be placed now."

"Liz, we'll take care of this, okay?" Rose said. "I think you and Remus need a break. We'll keep your mother distracted, and let your father know."

"I don't think that's a good idea-"

"Well, we do and you're outnumbered," Cassie interrupted, as she Rose, and Lily levitated all of the decorations outside, leaving the future newlyweds alone.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he said, taking a step closer to her. "I should have been paying more attention."

"It's okay." Liz lay her head down on the counter and closed her eyes.

"You alright, darling?"

"Mmhm." Liz opened her eyes as she held up her empty glass. "Lily made me a calming draught and firewhiskey mixture. I even spoke to Mum without yelling or crying."

Remus smiled. "Well that explains it." He sat down beside her. "I don't see how James and Lily managed all of this. I'm starting to think Cassie and Sirius had the better idea."

"It'll be worth it tomorrow, right?"

Remus lifted her hand and grinned. "Right."

Liz lifted her head and propped her elbows on the counter, her head in her hands. "So what do the illustrious Marauders have planned for your last night as a bachelor?"

"With those two, you never know," Remus said with a grin. "I just wish that Peter was going to be there."

"Why isn't Peter coming again? I know you told me but Mum was going off about decorations at the same time."

"He left for some job trip a week ago, saying he was going to be gone for at least a month." Remus shook his head. "He said he tried to postpone it but his boss was extremely strict. Muggle bosses, eh?"

Peter had tried to follow Sirius and James into the Auror Program, but had been cut when he couldn't keep up with the physical training of the job. He had settled with a muggle job, but he rarely spoke about it, only to say that his boss was strict and demanded much of him.

They heard a shout come from outside, most likely from Liz's mother, and the two retreated into the living room. Normally, they would go up to Liz's bedroom, but since her wedding dress was hanging up in plain view, that was out of the question. Liz curled up to her fiance as Remus kissed her jawline.

"24 hours," he muttered into her neck. "We can make it 24 more hours, right?"

"Not if you keep that up, we won't," she replied with a smirk.

Remus laughed softly before kissing her cheek. "How hacked would your mother be if she walked in on us right now?" he asked.

"Well, I'd prefer we walked down the aisle in one piece."

"Point taken."

There was another shout from outside and Cassie came into the room. "Liz, I'm sorry, but if you don't come outside, you're going to be short a few wedding party members. Your mother is going spare."

Liz sighed and pulled away from Remus, who stood up with her. "Alright, alright, I'm coming," she sighed.

"Do you need another calming mixture before you go outside?" Cassie asked.

"I think I'm okay. Besides my mother could use a good yelling at this point." She dragged Remus outside as Cassie followed.

* * *

Later that evening after everything had been placed perfectly, they had done a few rehearsals of transitioning the tent from the ceremony setting to the reception, and Liz's mother had been slipped a sleeping drought, Sirius and James had dragged Remus off to James's place for the night while Rose and Cassie spent it at Liz and Remus's place. Lily had returned with the boys, both to make sure that the Marauders didn't burn down Godric's Hollow and to rest as her pregnancy symptoms had started giving her a fit after dinner.

After Liz's parents had retired for the night, the girls had taken over the living room, where Cassie was trying to come up with a hairstyle for her soon-to-be-sister-in-law's big day tomorrow. She twisted and flipped Liz's hair into several styles, looking at Rose for a seal of approval.

"What about this?" Cassie asked for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"I like it," Rose said.

"You said that about the last ten times she's pulled my hair into submission," Liz muttered.

"Do you want me to do your hair and make it look amazing or not?" Cassie said, tapping Liz in the head with her wand to undo it easily before separating her layers and twisting them back in clips.

"I do, but I wish you'd at least let me see the torture you're putting me – ouch!" she yelped as Cassie purposefully pulled her hair a tint harder than usual.

"Liz, just trust me, okay?"

She sighed. "Fine," she muttered.

Rose had been unusually quiet since she'd everybody had left, which had both Liz and Cassie a bit worried. Ever since late May (a few weeks before their final school year came to a close), she had been distraught when rumors of Severus Snape's loyalty to the Wizarding World had slipped out. She had confronted him on the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year when he arrived. From what Liz and Cassie had gotten out of the former Head Girl, he had been talked into joining You-Know-Who, and Rose wanted nothing more to do with him.

"Come on, Rose, cheer up," Cassie said, pulling Liz's hair into a simple bun and then curling the loose strands with her wand, "it's your last chance to torture Liz before she gets married tomorrow."

"For once, somebody else is being told not to brood, and it's not me," Liz joked, smiling at Rose. Rose gave a small smile. "Come on, Rose, if you're not going to be happy, how do you expect us to be happy?"

"I'm not brooding," Rose said in a sigh. "I'm just thinking."

"Okay, did you and Liz switch split personalities at the last minute?"

"Hey!" Liz protested. Cassie pulled at her hair and she shut up.

"Seriously, do you think it's wise to put me paired with  _Potter_ tomorrow?" she asked.

Liz and Remus had thought long and hard about how many people they wanted in their wedding. It wasn't going to be big; just their family and a few close friends from school with Dumbledore officiating (as he had in Lily and James' wedding a couple of months before). They had settled on just four people for their wedding party. Sirius was Remus's best man, with Cassie as Liz's Maid of Honor, leaving James for a groomsman and Rose as a bridesmaid. Though James was married, Liz wasn't close enough to Lily like the others were yet, which Remus perfectly understood.

"You're not going to hex him, are you?" Liz said suspiciously, raising her eyebrows to Rose. "Because I would hate to turn around and hex you for messing up my wedding."

"I wouldn't dream of doing that, Liz," Rose said, shaking her head. "I was just thinking about would… _Lily_ -" she said her name as nice as she could muster- "approve?"

"You were with Lily all day today and managed to hold a civil conversation with her. Besides, you know Remus said James and Lily were okay with it," she said. "It'll be fine. Just don't talk to him, and he won't talk to you."

"You know that Potter will take any opportunity he can to gloat about how-"

"James made a promise that he wouldn't speak to you."

Rose scoffed. "That will last five minutes."

"It was either he say nothing, or he wasn't in the wedding," Liz said simply.

"Wow, how did you get Remus to agree to that?"

"Well…"

"On second thought…I don't want to know."

"There!" Cassie exclaimed. "This! _This_ is the one!"

"Do you mean I get to finally see it?" Liz asked hopefully.

"No."

"Not. Fair.  _I'm_  the bride."

"And?" Rose and Cassie both said.

"Liz, it's perfect. Just trust her," Rose said, her mood beginning to brighten. "You'll thank her tomorrow."

"It better not resemble moose antlers or something else odd."

Cassie tapped her head a little too hard as she unraveled Liz's hair back to normal and sat down beside her at the kitchen table. "Trust me, you'll love it."

Liz rubbed the top of her head. She sighed and nodded, a nervous smile on her face as she twisted the engagement band on her finger. "It's finally here," she said quietly.

"Today went through smoothly. Everything will be fine," Cassie said in confidence. "You have nothing to worry about."

"And if we have to, we'll mix you another calming draught and firewhiskey."

"I am  _not_  letting my brother get married when his bride-to-be is the muggle equivalent to being stoned!"

"This time tomorrow night you'll be married," Rose continue, ignoring Cassie. She looked at Cassie and acted like she was crying. "Our little Hoot is growing up so fast."

Liz rolled her eyes. Ever since she had mastered her animagus form, Rose kept calling her Hoot. "Your day will come soon enough, Rose, don't worry."

"I'm just destined to be alone," Rose grumbled.

"Oh, stop being melodramatic," Cassie said. "I thought you and that…what's-his-name…from the Ministry were dating?"

"It's complicated," Rose muttered. She had met somebody in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, in which she worked for the Accidental Magic Squad (apparently fixing Liz's screw-ups throughout the years paid off). His name was Thomas Ransley, a former Slytherin who had finished Hogwarts two years before they had. The two had been dating on and off for the past few months, and Rose was afraid to being in a relationship once again.

"Do you like him?" Liz asked.

"Kind of," Rose said, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Well, if he's trying this desperate to get you to date him, he obviously likes you," Cassie said.

"See? You're not destined to be alone," Liz said enthusiastically.

"Wow, aren't you just…bouncy," Cassie said to Liz.

"It's not like every day you get married."

"She won't be as bouncy after tomorrow night," Rose said under her breath.

Cassie pretended to be sick, getting what Rose was saying. "We are NOT taking this conversation in that direction! It's bad enough I've witnessed Liz and Remus making out more than I ever wanted," she said, covering her ears.

Liz turned bright red. "Rose started it!"

"Hey, the truth was there…somebody had to say it," Rose protested.

"Not…out…loud…in front…of me!" Cassie shouted, her ears still covered.

Rose and Liz looked at each other and shook their heads. Cassie would never get used to fact her brother and best friend were together. "Okay," Rose sighed. "We won't talk about it."

"Thank you," Cassie muttered, uncovering her ears.

Liz was still bright pink. "Right, what were we talking about?" she asked, her voice a bit higher than usual.

"I don't remember," Cassie said, playfully glaring at Rose, who just gave her an innocent look.

"Maybe we should turn in early, tomorrow is going to be a busy day," Rose suggested.

Liz scoffed. "Try wearing my dress," she muttered. "I can barely breathe in it."

"Then why did you pick it?" Cassie asked.

"Because I liked it!"

"You liked it because you know it's going to kill Remus to have to unbutton ever tiny button in the back before-"

"Rosalina Evermore, I'm going to put you under the most powerful Silencing Charm I can create!" Cassie said, covering her ears again.

"But it's true!" Rose protested again. "Right, Liz?"

Liz turned bright red again, and nodded.

Cassie sighed. "I guess I'd better get used to the fact you'll be married after tomorrow to my brother," she said with a sigh. "Just keep the visual imagery to a minimum, okay?"

"Deal."

The three friends talked a little more, interrogating each other about different topics until they heard the clock strike 11 o'clock. After assuring Liz once more that everything would be fine, the three friends finally headed to bed. While Rose and Cassie slept, Liz couldn't help but stay awake, her mind wandering with too many thoughts to think about sleep. By the time the clock struck one, however, drowsiness finally hit her.

* * *

The next morning came quick for both sides of the bridal party. Liz, Cassie, and Rose were up and since they had stayed at Liz's parents house, had already started to get ready in Liz's old room by the time Remus, Sirius, and James showed up an hour before the ceremony. Mrs. Mallory greeted them warmly as she always did while Mr. Mallory gave a curt nod to his soon-to-be-son-in-law; he was still cautious of Remus, despite Liz's attempts to get them to be civil to each other.

The three Marauders were already dressed. All three of them were wearing black dress robes. They had decided to allow a mixture of both worlds (since muggle wedding dresses had mesmerized Liz). Mr. Mallory led them outside while Mrs. Mallory headed up the stairs to check on the girls.

"The boys just arrived," Liz's mother said as she entered the room. She saw her daughter and her smile brighten. "Elizabeth…you look beautiful."

Any tension between mother and daughter the day before had evaporated overnight. Liz turned pink at her mother's compliment and looked down, only to be smacked by Cassie, who was trying to add the finishing touches to her hair. Cassie had twisted her hair into strands around each other, creating a unique bun with small golden flowers stuck in certain strands. Her dress was the traditional white, which she had discovered was custom for muggle weddings; it was strapless with a small hint of a princess cut on top. Small tiny buttons held it up, running down to the waist of the fabric where it flared out around her in several layers.

Cassie and Rose's dresses were a dark blue, similar to the color of the dress Liz had worn to the Christmas Ball in her sixth year. The dresses had thin straps that hung over their shoulders and the fabric wasn't flared like Liz's dress, but instead flowed to the ground like silk. Both girls' hair was almost the same as Liz, but lacked the accessories and the amount of several twisting strands of hair.

"There," Cassie said, putting the last golden clip in Liz's hair. "Perfect."

"Now can I look?"

"Yes, you can finally look."

Liz sighed and turned around to look in the mirror on top of her old dresser and gasped in amazement at Cassie's hard work. "It's…amazing, Cassie," she said, giving her a tight hug. "Thank you."

"All three of you look amazing," Mrs. Mallory fawned, wiping a lone tear away from her eyes. Liz shook her head at her mother.

"Mum, we still have an hour to go before the actual wedding and you're already crying," she said.

"It's not like you see your only daughter get married every day," she responded, going to Liz and hugging her tightly. Liz hugged her back awkwardly, looking at Rose and Cassie who were trying their best not to laugh.

"Mum?" Liz said once her mother kept hugging her.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"You can stop hugging me now. I can barely breath as it is."

Mrs. Mallory pulled away from her and wiped her eyes again. "I'll leave you three alone for a little bit. I'll come get you when we're ready," she looked at her daughter one more time before leaving the room, still wiping her eyes.

Liz shook her head and turned back to her friends, who couldn't hold their laughter in anymore. "Shut up," she muttered.

"That was really sweet of her though," Rose said once she calmed down.

"It was just so  _unlike_  your mum," Cassie added.

"She acts like I'm 8 years old," Liz muttered. "I'm 18."

"She's just excited, that's all," Rose said.

Liz nodded and began to pace, her nervousness from last night back. "I hate this bloody wait," she muttered.

"That anxious?" Cassie asked in an amused tone.

"Hey, you're the one who set the time," Rose said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Shut up, Rose."

"Wow, I just realized the next time you probably tell me to shut up, you'll be a Lupin."

Liz broke into a smile, ignoring Rose's comment. "Yes, I will," she said happily.

"Now I can actually call you my sister and not get an odd look every time I refer you as such," Cassie said.

"You'll still get that with me," Rose reminded her.

"True."

"I wonder how the guys are holding up?" Liz asked thoughtfully.

* * *

"Remus…calm down, mate."

"I am calm."

Sirius rolled his eyes to James. Remus was pacing back and forth through the snow outside of where the ceremony was going to be held. He had been fine until Dumbledore had announced to be in places in fifteen minutes. Now he was pacing in front of his friends, who were looking at him amused.

"You've been confident and calm about this the entire time," James said in an amused voice. "Why are you now beginning to panic fifteen minutes before its actually taking place?"

"I don't know," Remus muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm…I'm just…."

"You're afraid she's going to back out?"

"No! I just hope we're doing the right thing…"

"Why wouldn't you be?"

"You know perfectly well why, Sirius."

James and Sirius sighed, knowing that Remus was referring to his 'furry little problem.' "It's going to be fine," Sirius said. "You'll see Liz…and everything will be fine."

"If it had been up to her, she'd probably married you when you were both still in Hogwarts," James said encouragingly.

Remus sighed and stopped pacing, flatting his hair back down from mussing it up. "You're right," he said, taking in a deep breath. "It's going to be fine."

Sirius and James nodded, and before anybody could say anything else, Dumbledore said it was time. Sirius pushed Remus in front of him to follow their former Headmaster. Liz's parents had decorated the back yard in the colors of their wedding; dark blue and golden decorations surrounded the trees and the archway from the house. Several chairs had been set up, with a walkway in the middle. Both sides of their families were already sitting on their respective sides, and their friends were scattered between both ends. A warming charm had been placed around the guests, and to what Remus was sure would be Liz's delight, it had started to snow again.

Somewhere, soft music in the tune of the wedding march began playing. The guests turned, facing the back of the house where the archway that was the entrance to the area. Rose came out first, holding a small bouquet of flowers in her hand as she walked toward the groomsman. Behind her, Cassie followed a few feet behind, carrying a similar bouquet of flowers. They both reached the front, and turned to face the back as the guest stood for the bride.

Mr. Mallory led Liz by the arm, who held a larger bouquet in her hand, the veil of her dress flowing down the back of her dress. She smiled at a few of her friends and family as she past, but soon her gaze went straight to Remus, who was looking at her in awe. They never took their eyes off each other as he stepped toward her, finally breaking his gaze away. They faintly acknowledged everybody had sat down, and Sirius let out a small chuckle, only to be silenced by a glare from his own wife.

"Who gives this young woman away?" Dumbledore asked softly, his eyes alight with his usual twinkle.

"Me and her mother," Mr. Mallory responded. Dumbledore nodded, and Mr. Mallory kissed his daughter on the cheek before giving Remus a curt nod, then went to sit beside Mrs. Mallory. Dumbledore instructed everybody to be seated as Liz and Remus moved to stand beside the old Headmaster. Liz handed her bouquet to Cassie and their back to Remus, their hands linked once more and eyes never leaving each others.

"Welcome," he started, "family and friends who have joined these Elizabeth and Remus here today for their special day…a day that will live on to surpass the years…their wedding day…"

Dumbledore spoke of the their relationship throughout school, and how he wished them a happy and long marriage before he asked Remus to place Liz's ring on her finger and say his vows (which the two decided to say their own). Remus turned to Sirius, who handed him the ring with a broad grin. He turned back to Liz, who had tears already beginning to form in her eyes.

"Elizabeth, with this ring…I promise to love you just as I have the first day we fell for each other. I promise to respect the decisions you make, to love and cherish you through any obstacle that comes between us. I promise to be there when you need me the most, and even when you say you can handle it. I love you, and only you…so with this ring, I thee wed."

He slid the silver band on her ring finger, the diamond pattern around it connecting with the engagement band next to it. She looked up at him, a few tears falling from her eyes as she turned and took the golden band from Cassie, who also gave her a bright smile, tears of her own in her eyes.

"Remus, I also promise to love you as unconditional as you have," she vowed softly. "I promise to be there to love and take care of you whenever needed. I promise to love everything about you, whether it's your stubbornness or protectiveness. I promise to love you no more, no less than I did before. I promise to love you no matter where our future takes us. With this ring, I thee wed."

She slid the golden band onto his finger, then linked both of her hands with his once more. He looked down at her and smiled, tears glistening in his eyes. Liz had only seen him in tears once before, but this time was definitely better than then. She smiled brightly back at him, both of their hearts racing as Dumbledore took out his wand. A golden strand shot from the tip, intertwining around Liz and Remus's left wrists and their rings. He muttered and incantation and the golden band glowed brightly before disappearing.

"May I present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Remus Lupin! Dumbledore announced, his eyes still twinkling. He looked at Remus and Liz before nodded to young man. "You may kiss your bride."

Remus grinned broadly at Liz before leaning down, capturing his lips to hers gently. His left hand lifted and rested on her cheek as she kissed him back. The crowd around them broke into applause, Sirius and James cat calling behind them as they shared their first kiss as a married couple.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original version of this chapter was about half the word count that it is now, so I'm pretty satisfied with it at the moment. I was watching Princess Diaries 2 as I wrote this, so I had to thrown in another movie reference. I felt (slightly) bad for having Peter miss Remus's wedding. But I figured since this is taking place toward the beginning of 1980, that we're starting to get into canon world a bit. I thought having Peter say he had a muggle job and was being sent out of the country for work would be the coverup for Voldemort and probably sending him to recruit for the war. (I thought I was clever, and I wrote that part at 3 in the morning!)


	13. Sacrifice

* * *

_Back with Harry_ …

* * *

"You and Liz actually were married?" Harry asked, surprised.

Remus nodded.

"Then…how come-"

"Patience, Harry," Sirius said with a sad smile. "We're getting to the end our story."

Harry sat and in silence, looking between the two remaining, true Marauders. "So, what happened after you two were married?" he asked. "You said all of you were in the Order, right?"

"We were," Remus said with a sigh. "Voldemort started to get stronger, and started recruiting more forces. Dumbledore thought it would be appropriate that, since I was already affected by lycanthropy, I should be sent as a spy."

"And he would have gotten away with it if he hadn't decided to confide in Liz before asking Remus," Sirius added.

"A few weeks before Dumbledore was going to assign me to the job, he had a meeting with Liz to assure her that nothing would happen to me. That had been his first mistake." Remus shook his head. "She…panicked and told him about her animagus form."

"But didn't Dumbledore ask if Cassie-"

"He probably knew, like he knew James and Pettigrew were after I confessed," Sirius responded.

"So…he sent Liz?"

Remus nodded and have a small sigh. "It was probably the closest I've ever gotten to being angry at her."

Sirius scoffed. "I thought Cassie was going to hex her into the next century."

"You never told me that," Remus said, surprise in his voice.

Harry looked between the Marauders. Sirius shot his best friend an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Moony."

"How did Cassie find out?" Harry asked.

Sirius looked between his godson and Remus, who also was looking at him for an explanation. Sighing, Sirius picked up the story.

"Well, Cassie went to tell Liz…something important…"

* * *

_March 1980_

Cassie apparated outside of the boundaries of Liz and Remus's place and headed for the door, opening it and entering unannounced, like always. A bright smile from the news she had just received still shown on her face as she called out, "Liz?"

A few seconds later, her best friend called from the kitchen. Cassie headed into the room, where Liz had been washing dishes. She turned, a smile of her own appearing when she saw Cassie. "Hey," she greeted.

"Guess what?" Cassie said, starting to fidget with excitement. If she didn't tell somebody soon, she was going to burst with joy.

Liz looked at her amused. "It must be good with the way you're acting," she answered as she grabbed a dish towel.

"Sirius and I…"

"…yeah…"

Finally, she couldn't hold it any longer. "We're having a baby!" she burst out.

Liz looked at her in surprise. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes!"

Liz smiled broadly and hugged Cassie tightly. "I can't believe it! Congratulations!" She pulled away, still looking in awe at her sister-in-law. "Did you just find out?"

"Yes," Cassie said with a nod. "I've had my suspicious, but I didn't want to tell Sirius until I was positive. You know how he's been with Lily and James since they asked him to be godfather."

"You going to tell him soon, right?"

"Of course. I just want to wait for the right timing. It has to be perfect." She gave a beaming smile. She was pretty sure the news hadn't completely sunk into for herself.

Liz nodded, her smile slowly beginning to fall. "You'll find the right moment, Cassie. You are…after all…you…Master of Plans."

Cassie sighed and put a hand on Liz's shoulder. "Come on, Liz. I wasn't the only one that came up with plans." She smirked. "Rose had some good ones."

"Exactly," Liz said, pulling away. She was still wringing the towel in her hands as she sat at the kitchen table. By the way she missed the sarcasm of Cassie's last comment, the former Hufflepuff could tell that her sister-in-law's mind was somewhere else. "You two always had the plans…"

Cassie gave her an odd look. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Liz answered too quickly. "I'm fine."

"You're a horrid liar, Liz."

"Really…it's…it's nothing." She looked up at Cassie and gave an obvious fake smile.

Cassie glared at her, crossing her arms and giving her the infamous, 'Tell. Now.' look.

Liz sighed and let the fake smile drop. "Fine," she admitted. "You know how Dumbledore was talking about pulling more people for missions at the last Order meeting?"

Cassie nodded. "He said he was still working on the details and it would be a couple of months before anything was finalized."

"I had a meeting with him. About a mission."

Taking a calming breath, Cassie walked over and sat in the chair across from Liz. "And?"

"Anything I tell you," she started, "You can't tell  _anybody._ Not Remus, or Rose, even Sirius."

Cassie sat there in silence, knowing that she shouldn't make this promise. If it was bad enough for Liz to swear her into secrecy – something she rarely did – then someone needed to be told. Still, she looked at her best friend and said, "I promise."

Liz took in a deep breath. "Dumbledore wanted to use Remus for a mission, now that they've finally succeeded in creating the Wolfsbane Potion, and I panicked. I told him to use me to use my animagus form instead."

"What sort of mission?" Cassie asked slowly.

"I don't know," Liz confessed. "All I know is that I would be gone for three months, starting sometime in June."

"How could you not know?"

"Because Dumbledore's details are somewhat like a fortune cookie."

"Well, tell me anyway," Cassie responded authoritatively. "His exact words."

"He started off saying he had a mission for Remus, that he wanted to use the discovery of the Wolfbane potion to the Order's advantage," Liz said slowly, avoiding Cassie's look. She stood up and started to pace. "When he started to talking about how Remus could use his lycanthropy to the Order's advantage, I got angry and I panicked! I told him about my animagus form, and I told that I would do the mission in his place He was still wanting to use Remus and I told him I had a better chance at intercepting things as an owl than Remus would have recruiting. He said he would contact me later with more details."

Cassie groaned and shook her head. "Liz! I love Remus as much as you do, but he's  _much_ more equipped to deal with this than  _you_  are!"

"I wasn't going to let Dumbledore just use him like that, Cassie! I had no other choice!"

Cassie also stood up. "Dumbledore doesn't  _use_ people! Whatever Remus did, it would have been voluntary!"

Liz stopped and looked at Cassie. "What would you do if it were Sirius, Cassie?" she asked softly.

Cassie's expression turned stony as she once again crossed her arms. "I'd let him do whatever needed to be done," she said, knowing it was the biggest lie ever.

"You would do  _anything_ to keep him safe."

"No," Cassie said defiantly. "I wouldn't second guess Dumbledore."

Liz sighed. "Cassie, I've been around you long enough to know when you're lying." She took a step closer to her. "I promise, everything will be okay."

"No," Cassie responded, turning and walking toward the door. "I'm telling Remus."

"You can't!" Liz said quickly, and before Cassie could turn around, Liz was in front of her, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please, Cassie, you can't tell him."

She continued to stand in silence, thinking.

"Cassie, I'm begging you…let me be the one to tell him," Liz pleaded, her eyes beginning to brim with tears.

Cassie sighed in aggravation. "Fine!" she burst out. "But you're being stupid, Liz."

With that, she brushed past Liz and opened the door, letting it slam behind her. She knew that she shouldn't have been angry with Liz.

But she didn't want to be worried about her either.

* * *

A few weeks later, Liz and Cassie had put their argument behind them. Cassie had put the thought of her best friend going out into the front lines of the war in the back of her mind and finally found the perfect time to tell Sirius about their child. Rose was still with Thomas Ransley, and Remus still didn't know about Liz's meeting with Dumbledore.

He came home from a quick run out, finding Liz nowhere as he walked through the door. Unlatching his cloak, he called out for her, walking into the house and tossing his cloak on the back of the armchair. The door to the study opened, and Liz stepped out, her eyes bloodshot and looking slightly pale. He couldn't help but notice the letter that was gripped tightly in her hand.

"Is everything alright?" he asked in concern.

Liz sighed. "No, it isn't," she admitted quietly.

Remus walked over to her and hugged her gently, trying to lend her comfort to whatever was wrong. "What is it?"

She pulled away from him and shakily handed him the letter. "It's from Dumbledore," she said quietly. "A…a mission."

He took in a deep breath and took the letter from her, walking over to the couch and sitting down. The letter was addressed to Liz, giving her details of what the mission entailed.

_Mrs. Lupin,_

_As promised, I'm writing to you with more details on the mission we discussed. I am having Fawkes send this to you directly to ensure it will not be intercepted. For three months starting in June, the Order is in need of a spy to see what Voldemort is planning. By using your animagus form of an owl, we need letters that Voldemort is sending out to forces to be intercepted, that way we will know when to expect attacks and perhaps maybe stop some along the way._

_I know that this is a lot to ask of you. Please let me know your answer by owl as soon as possible._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Remus finished the letter and looked up at Liz, confusion and a surge of panic running through him. "Liz…you can't do this."

She looked at him sadly, sitting beside him. "There's no one else for this mission," she said quietly.

"There can be someone else, not you."

Liz sighed and looked down. "Remus, I'm the only person in the Order whose animagus is an owl…I'm the only one who can intercept their messages."

"There has to be another way," Remus muttered, more to himself than to her. He looked up at his wife. "This is too dangerous for you. I can't believe Dumbledore would even suggest it…"

"He didn't. I did."

Remus looked at her in shock. "What?"

She stood up and looked at him worriedly. "I'm doing this so Dumbledore doesn't use your lycanthropy as an excuse to do this," she explained. "He had a meeting with me a couple of weeks ago and told me. I couldn't let him do that to you. So I told him about my animagus form, and…"

Her voice trailed off as she watched Remus with wide eyes. He sat motionless for several minutes, trying to register what was going on. She sighed and shook her head, figuring he wasn't going to speak anymore. Liz turned from him, heading toward their bedroom. Remus finally stood up and followed her, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her to face him again.

"I would let him do anything to me, Liz, if I knew it would keep you safe," he said softly.

"I know you would," she whispered. Tears started to fill in her eyes. "But I didn't want him to use you."

"Liz, it's a war. I would sacrifice everything if it meant you were safe."

"And I was doing the same for you."

She pulled away from him and entered their bedroom. Remus followed her again, but she locked the door before he could enter.

"Liz, let me in," he asked quietly.

There wasn't a response. He rattled the door again.

"Liz, please," he pleaded. "Just let me in so we can talk about this."

More silence.

Remus shook his head. He threw his hands up in defeat and turned to go back to the living room when it dawned on him. "Come on, Moony," he muttered, reaching into his robes and pulling out his wand. "You can do magic, use it."

He turned back at the door and pointed the wand at the door and muttered,  _"_ _Alohomora."_ The lock clicked and Remus twisted the knob again, this time successfully opening the door. He pushed it open, seeing Liz sitting on the bed, hugging her knees as silent tears pouring down her cheeks. He put his wand on the dresser next to the door and walked over to the bed, going and sitting beside her.

"Please…talk to me," he said softly.

Liz closed her eyes and sighed. "Remus, I don't want to fight about this," she said quietly. "If we keep talking about it, we're going to fight. I only get to see you for a couple of months, and I don't want to spend it with us upset at each other."

"I don't want to fight either, but I do wish you'd think about this more before you respond to his letter," Remus pleaded.

She looked up at him, a guilty expression on her face. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. "I already sent Dumbledore a letter back, saying I would do it."

Remus looked at her, several emotions exploding in his mind. Fear, sadness, surprise, shock, anger, betrayal. The last two were the worst, something that he  _never_ expressed toward Liz.

He stood up, shaking as he walked out of their bedroom and slammed the door behind him, tears that he rarely had filling in his eyes.

* * *

The clock in Sirius and Cassie's living room had just struck 11. Cassie was already in bed, and Sirius was on his way to the bedroom when there was a pounding at the door. He froze for a second and grabbed his wand from the coffee table before peering through the peep hole at the door. Seeing Remus, he opened it in concern. "Moony? Is everything okay?"

"Sirius?" Cassie called behind them, pulling her robe around her nightgown. "Who's at the door?" When she saw her brother, she immediately became concerned. "What happened?"

"Can I come in? Please?" he croaked. Sirius opened the door further to let Remus enter the house.

"I'll go make a pot of tea," Cassie said softly.

"He looks like he may need something a little strong, Cassie," he said in concern. Remus had followed them into the kitchen and sat into a chair, his head in his hands.

Cassie glared at her husband before sitting the kettle on the stove. Moving to her brother, she sat down beside him. "Remus, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on. Did you and Liz have a fight about something?"

Remus looked up, and for the first time had a look of complete fear. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and shaking his head, managed to choke out, "I can't lose her."

Cassie immediately knew what he brother was talking about. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "You're not going to, Remus. She'll be okay."

Sirius sat down across from the two siblings, placing a bottle of firewhiskey on the table. "Would somebody please explain what the hell is going on?" he asked.

Remus didn't reply but looked at her sister. "You knew?"

"Knew what?" Sirius asked sharply.

Cassie closed her eyes for a moment before nodding. "She made me promise not to tell you, Remus. I thought she would have told you sooner."

"How long?"

"Three weeks. Dumbledore met with her the same day I told Sirius I was pregnant."

"Remus, mate, neither of you are making sense," Sirius said. "What's going on?"

"Dumbledore wants Liz to take on a mission for the Order," Remus said. "He was going to ask me to spy on Voldemort's supporters during full moons, but Liz convinced him that her animagus would be better. She leaves in June."

Sirius swore under his breath. After the last raid the Order performed had gone wrong and James had narrowly escaped, Sirius knew it was a matter of time before their small group felt the effects of the war. He just never expected it to be Remus and Liz.

Wordlessly, Sirius levitated a glass from the cabinet and poured a small amount of the amber liquid before handing it to Remus. Remus downed the firewhiskey before breaking down. Sirius had never seen his best friend so distraught. Cassie hugged her brother tight, motioning for Sirius to take care of the tea as the kettle started to whistle. Feeling awkward and not knowing how to help, Sirius busied himself with the tea as Cassie tried to calm her brother down.

"Remus, listen to me," she was saying as he returned to the table with three steaming cups. "She did this because she loves you, and didn't want to see you be taken advantage of. It doesn't mean she doesn't want to be away from you, for Merlin's sake, you've only been married four months!"

"Exactly!" Remus cried out. "We should be worry about work and planning our future, not sacrificing themselves for whatever Dumbledore bloody wants!"

"I'm sorry, Remus, but that's war," Cassie said. "I know that's harsh, but it's the truth. The Ministry has been infiltrated, and Dumbledore knows we have to take matters into our own hands. You don't think Liz, Lily, and I don't sit here and worry about you three when you have to go on raid missions? Why is this any different?"

Remus shook his head, but didn't answer. Finally, Sirius spoke up.

"What happened when you found out?" he asked.

"I was in denial," Remus said hoarsely. "I told her that...that I didn't want to argue with her, and she agreed that she didn't want to argue either. She locked herself in the bedroom and I had to use magic to get in. I begged her to talk about it before she made her decision and..." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "She said she'd already agreed. Something in me just snapped. I felt angry, hurt, afraid, and worse of all betrayed. I don't know why I felt betrayed. It's supposed to be me protecting her, not the other way around." He sniffled. "I left, apparated, and started walking. Then I found myself coming here."

Cassie pulled two of the cups of tea toward her and Remus, forcing it into his hands. "She probably is thinking you hate her right now," she said. Remus went to interrupt, but Cassie held up a hand to stop him. "I know that's not the case, but I'm not the person you have to convince of that. Not only does she probably think you hate her, but I would safely assume that she hates herself just as much. She knows how much this mission is asking of her and your relationship, but Liz always thinks in a bigger picture way. She knows that a lot of good will come out of this if she succeeds and right now, she needs as much support as she can get. Especially from you."

"Cassie's right," Sirius said. "The decision has been made, and right now the best thing for you both is to support each other. Comfort her and keep her optimistic. Let her know that you'll be here when she returns."

"Now, drink your tea, and I'll put this away." Cassie stood and grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey. "Alcohol is not the solution tonight." She walked over to the cabinet and put it back in the cabinet. "I'm going back to bed, because this baby is giving me a fit." She kissed Sirius quickly and hugged her brother. "Everything will be okay, Remus," she said. "One of these days we'll be free of this war and we can start living our lives normally again."

All Remus could do was nod, hoping that Cassie was right.

* * *

The next morning, Liz opened the door to the bedroom, her eyes red and swollen from the night before. She hardly slept all night as she ran the entire idea of leaving Remus and her friends in her mind. What had she gotten herself into? After Remus had walked out of the bedroom last night, she was positive that she broken one of the biggest vows of their relationship. She knew that she was not going to be able to fix this with just 'I'm sorry.'

She didn't know if she could fix it at all.

Liz made her way into the living room, where she spotted Remus, lying on the couch where he must have been all night. Every time Liz would wake up from dozing off the night before, her husband was nowhere to be found, and now she knew where he'd been. She turned around, trying to quietly leave the room.

"Liz?"

She froze for a second before turning around and looking back in the direction of the living room but kept silent. She was afraid as soon as she started talking that her tears would soon follow.

Remus sat up on the couch and looked at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

Her throat was too constricted to answer as she walked back toward him. She sat down and shook her head.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said softly, reaching out and taking her hand in his.

Liz shook her head, her voice cracking from not using it for hours. "I'm sorry too, and…" she looked up at him, tears once again filling her eyes. "I'm so…so sorry, I…I didn't even think about…" Her voice failed her once more as she looked down at the floor, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

Remus sighed and moved closer to her, taking her in his arms. "Its okay, Liz," he said softly. "It's okay."

She hugged her husband back tightly, gripping onto his shirt and burying her head into his chest. "I do love you, you know that right?" she choked out. "I didn't take this mission because…because I didn't."

"I know, Liz," Remus responded, continuing to hug her tight. "I know, and I love you too. I'm just worried about you."

"I just didn't want anything to happen to you."

"And I don't want anything to happen to  _you_."

"Cassie and Rose are going to kill me before I even leave," Liz mumbled.

"I think they'll be worried, just like I will. I went to Sirius and Cassie last night, and they were both optimistic that you'll be okay. I think they'll understand. Maybe not now, but in time."

Liz shook her head. "They'll think that I've gone crazy…or…or suicidal."

"I think you're best friends know you better than that."

She sighed and fell silent, still clinging onto Remus. She felt like a terrified three year old, and the fear of the mission she was now slated to do began to fill her head. In theory she thought she'd be strong and confident and there was no doubt when it came to actually perform her tasks that she would be. But she was barely 19, and her decision weighed on her mind. Remus fell silent as well, gently rubbing her back in comfort. Liz closed her eyes, the lack of sleep from the night before catching up with her. She relaxed against him, slowly releasing his shirt from the death grip she had on it.

"You should go lie down for a while, Liz," Remus said softly.

Liz looked up at him. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No, not really," he admitted. "I was worrying about you."

Feeling guilty, she tried to pull away from him. "I'm sorry," she said once again.

Remus held onto her. "It's okay. I'm sorry for the way I reacted."

Liz sighed. "Maybe you're right, maybe I'm making a mistake." She started to talk in a panic. "Now I wish I could take it back, tell Dumbledore no, but I can't."

"You'll be fine," he assured. Liz looked up at him, knowing he was trying to be supportive as much as he could. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

She managed a smile. "Aren't I always when you ask me?"

Remus returned her smile and kissed her on the forehead. "I just love you too much not to remind you."

Liz smiled a little brighter before she closed her eyes. Her mind went back to what she was risking, what she was sacrificing for this mission. Telling Remus had been hard enough. Telling her parents and friends would be the same, if not worse. She wiped a lone tear from her eye and leaned off of him, trying to stiffle a yawn.

"You need some sleep, Liz," Remus repeated softly.

"So do you."

She curled up closer to him, knowing that the next few days would be the only time they had to be with each other. Her eyes opened suddenly when he picked her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You know, I  _can_ walk," she said sleepily. "But I can get used to this."

Remus smiled. "I'll carry you anytime you want," he said softly.

She held onto him tightly, remembering the day he had proposed. He'd said the something similar after she'd managed her animagus form. The lack of sleep finally catching up with her, Liz didn't even remember Remus laying her gently on the bed and holding her close as they both slept.

* * *

A couple of days later, Liz knocked on the door of Rose's flat, her mind still trying to come up with the best way to tell her about the mission. She knew that if Remus's name was even mentioned that the former Slytherin would go after him, and Merlin only knew what would happen with that encounter. She continued to try and think of what she was going to say when the door opened.

"Liz, I wasn't expecting you!" Rose greeted with huge smile. She opened the door wider and let Liz enter the flat.

Liz gave her a small smile. "Well, I figured I would drop by and give my best friend a visit," she responded, entering as Rose the shut the door and led Liz into the kitchen.

"I was actually thinking about seeing you and Cassie today," Rose said. "But this works as well."

Liz nodded, taking in a deep breath. There was no use trying to ease the tension from the subject with small talk. If she didn't tell Rose now, she would never be able to bring herself to tell.

"Actually, there's a reason I came over, Rose," she started quietly.

Rose looked at her best friend questioningly. "What's the matter, Liz?" she asked. "Are you okay? You're not pregnant too, are you? Because I can't handle two hormonal people in my life."

"I wish that was what I had come to tell you," Liz said. "Because that would be easier news to bare."

Rose's expression changed to one of concern. "What's happened?"

Liz sighed and figured it was now or never. "I got a letter from Dumbledore the other day. You remember the meeting he was talking about sending people on a mission?" Rose nodded. "They need somebody to intercept letters from You-Know-Who."

Remus may be brave enough to say Voldemort's name, but Liz couldn't bring herself to say it. She looked at Rose anxiously, hoping she would put two and two together.

"Somebody like an animagus who's animal just happens to be an  _owl_?" Rose gathered.

"Yes."

"Somebody like you?"

Liz swallowed the lump trying for form in her throat and nodded.

"And... you told him to go to hell, right?" She responded.

Liz bit her lip and shook her head. "Rose, you don't understand," she said quietly. "I...I had to do this. I'm the only person who can do this mission."

She looked at her best friend worriedly. She should have known that it was going to be like this. Tension was rising between them, and fast.

"It's a suicide mission!" Rose said, her tone heightening in both anger and concern. "You know that, don't you? If you do this, if you let Dumbledore talk you into this, you'll..." Her voice trailed off.

"There isn't an 'if I do this,' Rose," Liz said quietly. Her heart started to beat faster as she looked at her best friend pleadingly to keep calm. She didn't want one of the last times she would probably see Rose to become one of their biggest fights. "I sent Dumbledore a letter back as soon as I received information on the mission, saying that I would do it. I leave in a month and a half."

Rose looked at her and shook her head, her eyes becoming hard. "So that's it, then?" She practically shouted, tears of anger and sadness both starting to run freely down her face. "You came to tell me you're going to die and there's nothing I can do about it? Did you even think before you sent that owl, Liz? Did you think of me? Of Cassie? Of  _Remus_? Did you think about what it would do to any of us?"

Liz closed her eyes at hearing Rose's anger, tears feeling her own eyes. She deserved to be yelled at on some level, but she had to make her understand, without giving her the exact reason as to  _why_ she decided to take this mission.

"I am  _not_ going to die, Rose," she said defiantly. "And I did think about all of you. I'm doing this so we can win, Rose. Because if we succeed...if  _I_  succeed in this...we just may be able to bring down some of his forces."

She  _had_ thought about her friends and family. But she couldn't help but admit in her mind that she was doing this for not only so Remus wouldn't, but so that for once, people would see that she was capable of handling something this big.

"Do you think You-Know-Who is stupid, Liz?" Rose retorted, tears still falling. "He's going to know it's you, and if he doesn't, Severus will probably recognize you." She said his name quietly, like it still hurt to mention him.

"It's not like I'm going to be wearing a cloak and getting a dark mark, Rose," Liz retorted, a bit of her own anger mixing into her words. "I'll be undercover as my animagus form, and unless you told Snape what I look like as an owl, I doubt he'll even remember who I am!"

Rose looked at Liz, and Liz knew that anger still raged inside her best friend. But Liz was expecting her next comment."If you're so sure you can do it, then why don't you go at it then?" she snapped. "Why bother telling me at all?"

Liz couldn't help but feel crushed at Rose's words. It was almost worse than when she told Remus. "Fine," she said quietly. She was going to fight with her best friend, and she sensed that her visit had run its course. "If you want me out, fine. I'll leave. I didn't want the one of the last times I saw you to be like this, Rose. I don't leave until the beginning of June. You know where I live you decide to stop treating me like the dependent schoolgirl I once was."

She didn't wait for Rose to respond. She was quite sure if she wanted to hear what the former Slytherin said to her. With tears in her eyes she turned and walked to the door, letting is shut behind her as she apparated to Cassie's. Liz figured she may as well tell her sister-in-law now and get it over with.

She arrived in the yard of Sirius and Cassie's place and headed for the door. Taking a slow, shaky breath, she knocked on the door. She wiped the tears from her eyes, knowing that they would return a few minutes later. The door opened and Cassie stood in front of her, a small smile on her face. She opened the door and let Liz in. As Cassie shut the door, she turned to face Liz.

"Who did you just tell?" she asked.

Liz looked at her confused. "How…did you-"

"I knew it was only a matter of time before Dumbledore sent you that damned letter," Cassie said. "And Remus was here the other night. Sirius managed to get it out of him."

"I suppose you're going to yell at me too," Liz muttered, looking down at the hem of her robes.

"Let me guess. Rose."

Liz nodded and continued to look down. As she relived the fight that just happened, the tears once again filled her eyes. In a low, shaky voice, Liz explained what happened between her and Rose.

"I don't think she's ever going to forgive me," Liz concluded.

"She will," Cassie said in confidence. "You and Rose…you doubt each other, and yourselves frequently. She may not forgive you right now but in time she will."

"What if everybody's right, Cassie? What if I don't make it back?"

"Don't talk like that, Liz," she said harshly. Liz looked up at her, finding herself receiving one of Cassie's infamous glares. "Rose is just scared. We all are. It's a war, and if you play it safe…if you don't do anything to get your cover blown, you can do this."

Liz nodded, feeling her tears increase. Cassie  _always_ had faith in her…even when she didn't have it in herself.

"I just want to prove that I can handle something like this."

"You already have, Liz, by standing up to Dumbledore for your husband." Cassie bustled around the living room, moving things here and there. It was something she had started to do, and was positive it was some kind of hormonal pregnancy thing. "We just want everybody to survive this war and come back alive."

"I have to come back to you guys," Liz said softly.

Cassie nodded. "For all of us. For Remus. For Rose. For me. For your niece. She'll need both their Aunt Liz and Aunt Rose, after all."

Liz smiled and wiped her eyes again. "You got it."

Cassie fell silent for a few seconds before going to her sister-in-law and hugging her tightly, something that threw Liz off guard. "Just promise you'll be okay, Liz," Cassie said.

"I promise," Liz responded, hugging her back.

"Are you lying?"

Liz smiled. Cassie used to always say that when she asked Liz a question.

"No…I'm not lying. I promise I'll be okay."

After that, both of the former Hufflepuffs try to put the fact that Liz would be leaving the next day and wouldn't see each other for three months out of their minds. Their topic ranged from Cassie's pregnancy and how Sirius was handling it to just reliving their Hogwarts days. When Sirius arrived home from the Ministry, Liz knew that Remus would be waiting for her at home. Saying goodnight to the couple, she left the Blacks and headed home. She apparated outside their flat and opened the door, throwing her cloak on the back of the armchair beside her husbands. She didn't know where he was in the house, but knew that she didn't want him to see her tear-stricken face for the umpteenth time that week. She made her way to their bedroom and shut the door, going to the mirror on the dresser and pulling her wand from her robes. She muttered a concealment charm, her bloodshot and swollen eyes slowly going back to their original state. She put the wand on the dresser and sat down on the bed, putting her head in her hands and letting out a heavy sigh.

"Liz?"

She looked up, seeing Remus in the doorway. "Is everything okay?"

Liz sighed and nodded, despite her mind screaming in protest. "I told Rose and Cassie today."

Remus sighed and came and sat beside her. "I take it they were upset?"

"Cassie…was a little, but Rose…" she sighed and tried to keep calm and not ruin her concealment charm by crying once again as she explained what happened.

"She's just worried, darling," Remus said softly. "That's just how Rose shows her emotions."

Liz sighed and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Just goes to show how much I've screwed up," she whispered.

"You haven't screwed up," he said in the same quiet tone, running his fingers through her hair. "You were doing what you thought was best, I know that now…"

Liz nodded and pulled away, trying not to once again break down in tears. "I don't want to say goodbye," she said sadly.

"Then don't say goodbye just yet," Remus said quietly. "You have six weeks. It's still just any other ordinary night for us. We'll say goodbye when the time comes."

"Do you always have this much faith in me?" Liz asked quietly, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Well, a long time ago, I asked a great girl that same question, and she told me that she had faith in the people she cared about," he said, resting his forehead against hers. "Let's just say I'm taking a leaf out of her book."

Liz smiled even brighter, remembering when she told him that, back when they first got together. "I love you," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

Remus leaned up and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, too."

* * *

_End of May, 1980_

For the next six weeks, Liz prepared for her mission. She gave a notice to work, saying she would be unavailable for personal reasons for three months and would be back no later than October. She told her parents, whose reactions had been close to Rose's but after a few days, they had came and apologized, making her promise that she would be safe.

Rose still hadn't came to try and make ammends, and after Liz tried a couple of times to get her friend to talk to her and failing, she had given up. According to Sirius, Cassie had heard and, being nearly six months pregnant and very hormonal had yelled for an hour straight that she was being a horrible friend and should be ashamed of herself that she wasn't supporting her best friend at a time that was really needed.

It only caused Rose to shrink further into the sullen shell she'd put herself in and refused to speak to either of her friends.

The night before Liz was supposed to Liz, Cassie and Sirius invited the Lupins for dinner. They had made it through the meal without any mention of the next day, something Liz and Remus were both thankful for.

After dessert, and another hour of just sitting around and talking, they finally called it a night so Liz could finish preparing. Remus flooed ahead of Liz to let her have a few moments alone with Cassie and Sirius.

Liz gave Cassie one last, longing hug before looking at the couple. "Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless while I'm gone," Liz said.

Cassie and Sirius knew who she was referring to. "Remus will be fine, Liz," Cassie said.

"Marauder vow. James, Peter, and I will still keep him company on the full moon," Sirius added, giving her a quick hug. "Just take care of yourself, at least for his sake."

"Remember what we talked about," Cassie said quietly.

Liz nodded. "I'll be back in time to meet this one, hopefully." She nodded to Cassie's growing stomach.

"You better be." Cassie's voice caught for the first time. "You'd better go, before Remus thinks we decided to keep you here."

Liz laughed and blinking quickly to keep from crying, she said her final goodbyes and flooed home.

For the rest of the night, the couple managed to pretend like the next day wouldn't be the last they would see each other, just as Cassie and Liz had earlier that day. They went about their normal routine, and pushed Liz's departure from their minds until the next morning. Remus sat on the edge of the bed as Liz somberly packed her knapsack, assuring her that everything would be okay.

They should have taken advantage of being together one last time before they would be separated for three months, but instead the couple lay together, talking into the early morning hours. Eventually they fell asleep for a few hours, but before they knew it, the alarm was going off, signaling it was time for Liz to leave.

An hour later, Remus was hugging Liz tightly by the door, trying to keep his emotions at bay for her.

"Be careful, alright?" he said quietly. He had to be strong, for both of them.

"I will."

"If something happens….inform Dumbledore immediately and come home. Or sod Dumbledore and just come home."

"Nothing's going to happen," Liz reassured softly, looking up and kissing him softly on the lips. "Every thing will be okay."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

Remus bent down, pressing his lips softly to hers, trying to put all of his emotions and feelings for Liz in the kiss. He held her close, resting his hand on her cheek as she kissed him back, his other hand wrapping around her waist.

Finally, he pulled away, breathing heavily as he looked at her sadly, a lone tear escaping. "I'll see you in three months," he whispered.

She leaned up, gently wiping the tear from his cheek as she kissed him quickly one last time. "I love you," she choked out, her own tears returning.

"I love you too," he responded. She pulled away reluctantly from him and hiked her bag on her shoulder and giving him one last longing look, turned and opened the door, letting it softly shut behind her. 


	14. Missing

_Back with Harry…_

* * *

"You mean, she just  _left_? Like that?"

"She had no other choice. Dumbledore had left her instructions that she had to leave that morning, no questions asked."

Harry sat in shock, still looking between the Marauders. "So she left for the mission that Dumbledore wanted her to do," Harry said quietly. "Did she succeed in what he wanted her to do?"

"She did, actually," Remus said, a small, proud smile ghosting onto his face. "She managed to intercept several of Voldemort's letters which had details on attacks and raids in both the wizarding and muggle world. That information allowed us to either protect or evacuate places before the death eaters arrives. We still lost people, but it would have been worse had she not gotten those letters to us."

"But we figure that he must have found something suspicious near the end of her assignment," Sirius continued.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other before Remus stood up, quietly exiting the room. Sirius sighed and placed his hands on the table.

"Liz was supposed to return after three months." Sirius said slowly. "But that didn't happen."

* * *

_August 20th, 1980_

Remus and Sirius were sitting outside in a waiting room of St. Mungo's. Sirius was in a complete panic, pacing back and forth and looking hopeful whenever a healer came out of the room across from where they were sitting.

"Padfoot, you need to calm down," Remus said, shaking his head. "You're making me anxious."

"It's going on 10 hours, Moony! Shouldn't she have already delivered?!"

"Not necessarily. Remember Lily was almost in labor for 24 hours with Harry."

Cassie had gone into labor the night before a week ahead of her delivery date) and after Cassie had calmed Sirius down and the two had made it to St. Mungo's, the former Hufflepuff had all but threatened to hex Sirius if he didn't calm down and go notify their friends and family. After fetching his best friend and flooing to the Ministry to let Rose know, he had gone to see Lily and James quickly, and promised to keep them updated. Since Voldemort had targeted the Potters and Longbottoms suddenly, both families had gone into hiding under secret-keeper. Sirius knew that James wanted to be there for his best friend, but also knew that he was needed with his own wife and son more, and any risk of being in public was too high at the moment.

The news of Cassie about to give birth couldn't have come any sooner for Remus. It was almost the end of August, which meant the assignment that Liz was currently on would be over. Due to her being deep undercover at this point, they hadn't been able to correspond, and it was driving the werewolf crazy. The one good thing before today had been the birth of Harry, and that had been short lived two weeks ago when Dumbledore informed them at an Order member there was talks among the death eaters that Voldemort was going to be coming after Lily and James or Alice and Frank Longbottom, and encouraged them to start thinking about going into hiding. They could still write daily, but a letter was nothing compared to physically seeing your friends.

"She's going to be so hacked off that she missed this," Remus murmured as Sirius finally sat down beside him.

Sirius didn't have to ask who 'she' was at this point. "Well, none of us expected Robyn to get impatient and decide to join the world a week earlier than anticipated." He grinned. "Just like her mum already."

Remus scoffed. "You mean her dad, right? Because patience was never a virtue to you, Sirius."

Sirius shrugged and then looked worried again. "Do you think everything is okay?"

"I'm sure that a healer would have came out and told us otherwise."

"At least she and Harry will be in the same year at school. That's a bonus."

"Well, we know there will be three Gryffindors that have ties to the Order."

"Three?"

"Robyn, Harry, and Arthur Weasley's son. Ron."

"Ah, I forgot the Weasleys had another kid."

"How could you?" Remus said shaking his head. "There's about as many of them as there are Order members."

"Don't forget Neville Longbottom. I suspect he'll be a Gryffindor too, just like his father," Sirius mused.

"Or he could be a Hufflepuff like his mother."

"Well, maybe Robyn will also be a Hufflpuff like  _her_  mother."

"Touche."

The two fell silent, staring at the clock and at the door, waiting for some kind of news. Finally, Sirius spoke up again.

"What about you and Liz?"

"Huh?"

"Have you two thought about kids?"

Remus bit his lip and shook his head. "I know Liz wants a family, but...I just don't think it's going to happen."

"Why in the bloody hell not? You were great with Harry, I'm sure you'll be the same with Robyn."

"You  _know_  why, Sirius."

Sirius sighed. "Remus, you can't use your -" he paused as a healer went by them and lowered his voice, "your  _furry little problem_  as an excuse forever. You know Liz won't take that as an answer when she gets back."

"I'm not going to put a child through that kind of grief!" Remus hissed angrily.

"Who says the kid is going to be anything like you!"

"I can't take that risk! And what if it was, and it was harmful to Liz?" Remus shook his head. "I can't risk that. And with that Umbridge hag pressing to have those laws passed, I won't be surprised if they try to have our marriage nullified!"

There had been talks within the Ministry that once the war was over, that a new set of laws, proposed by somebody in the Department of Law Enforcement named Dolores Umbridge, would prevent werewolves from holding Ministry positions of any kind, nor would they allow to marry or even have children. Cassie had been trying to fight the law (since she worked in the same Department) but had little luck, especially since Fenrir Greyback had been trying his best to turn as many people as possible in the past year.

"That's not going to happen, Remus. Cassie's trying her best to make sure it doesn't."

"I just wish she was back. It would be one less thing to worry about," Remus muttered.

"One more week. You can make it one more week."

Another hour of staring at walls and pacing, a healer came out of the room they had whisked Cassie into. She had a tired smile on her face, which was reassuring to the two Marauders. "Mother and Daughter are both doing okay," she said.

Sirius let out a loud sigh of relief, bending over and steadying himself by holding bracing his hands against his knees. Remus broke into a huge smile and patted Sirius on the back as he stood up straight again. "Thank Merlin," Sirius breathed. "Can we see her?"

The healer nodded. "She's expecting you both." She opened the door, and placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Congratulations, Mr. Black."

Sirius gave her a grateful look before he and Remus both entered the room. It was a simple room, and in the bed by the back wall was an extremely tired Cassie, holding a bundle of pink blankets and cooing softly to it. She looked up at her husband and brother and motioned for them. Sirius headed straight for his wife and child, but Remus held back, allowing the little family to have a moment to themselves.

"Robyn Leigh Black," Cassie said. "That's what we agreed on, right?"

Sirius nodded. "She's perfect." Sirius kissed Cassie on the forehead. "Can I hold her?"

Cassie showed Sirius how to hold his arms, and gently slid Robyn to him. Remus stepped closer to the couple, stopping at the end of the bed. "Congratulations, both of you," he said. "Mum said she and Dad would be by later." Cassie nodded, closing her eyes. "And Rose said she would be over to see you after she finished up her work at the Ministry."

"Good, that means I get to nap between now and then," she muttered. "Merlin knows there won't be time in the days to come."

"Moony, come see your niece," Sirius called. Remus walked over to where Sirius was rocking baby Robyn and looked down at the pink bundle. She had a small tuft of light brown hair plastered on her head, and she was looking up at Sirius and Remus with bright blue eyes.

"Well, she has both of your eyes," Remus commented. "And Cassie's hair."

"And my nose," Sirius said proudly. "And looks like my ears too."

"Well at least she favors her mother more."

"That stings, Moony."

"Let Remus hold her," Cassie said from the bed. "You'll have all the time in the world, Sirius."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked timidly.

"It's just like holding Harry, Remus." Sirius moved and placed Robyn into her uncle's arms before retreating to the bed and hugged Cassie to him. Remus looked down at his niece, who cooed at him before snuggling into her blankets and closing her eyes. She was small, but no smaller than Harry had been when he was born. He moved slowly to the chair beside Cassie's bed, careful not to wake the bundle in his arms. For the moment, all his worry about Liz, the future, the war against Voldemort was gone.

Maybe he and Liz could talk about starting a family when she got back after all.

* * *

_September 2, 1980_

To help her brother keep his mind from being in a constant state of panic and worry the entire three months Liz was gone, Cassie had found herself, Sirius, and Remus spending a lot of time together over the past few months. But now that she was home with Robyn, she found herself spending less time with her brother as he opted to return back to his and Liz's flat during the evenings rather than sleeping on the couch. Sirius joked with her that he preferred a full night's sleep without being woken up by a crying baby, but Cassie had a feeling he was preparing for Liz's return from her trip.

However, when the three month mark came and gone, everybody automatically knew that something was wrong. When Dumbledore called an emergency Order meeting involving on Remus, Sirius, Cassie, Rose, and a select few others, they knew that what news they were about to receive wasn't good.

"As you know, Elizabeth has been intercepting letter's from the other side since June. She was supposed to meet our correspondent the night before for her final assignment and then return home." He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking over to Remus and Cassie. "Our correspondent told us that she didn't make it to the meeting point. We fear Voldemort may have discovered her."

Cassie's hand covered her mouth in shock and Rose blinked back tears. Remus was positive that he heart stopped completely.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No."

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said. "We're trying our best to find her, but we may have to fear the worst has happened."

"No!" Remus repeated, only this time it came as a shout. "She's still alive! She  _has_  to be!"

Dumbledore's news started to sink in slowly, and then everything crashed on him. His shoulder's started to shake. "Maybe she was being tailed by a death eater and is taking a detour to shake him off her trail," he said wildly. "Or maybe she was injured and nobody can get to her. We have to find her!" He jumped up from his seat, and would have made it out of the room if Alastor Moody and Arthur Weasley didn't grab him first.

Sirius, who had been holding Robyn, passed her to Cassie before standing up and going to his best friend. "Remus, we're going to find her okay?" he said, grabbing his shoulders. "But you barging into Voldemort's lair is just going to end with you getting killed. You need to stay calm, mate."

Remus struggled against Sirius for a moment before finally breaking down. Sirius tried to maneuver him to a chair, but the werewolf just sagged to the ground, feeling more lost than he had ever had before.

Finally, Sirius, Moody, and Arthur managed to get Remus back to the table as Dumbledore started to speak again. "We have a few spies who may be able to get some information. They're not in Voldemort's inner circle, but perhaps they've heard some rumors. Alastor, you start with those two." Moody nodded. "Sirius, I know that you and Cassandra are new parents, but can I ask that you help as well?"

"I think we'd be better off helping Remus, Professor," Cassie said softly, looking over at her brother in concern.

"Of course," Dumbeldore nodded. "Sirius, you and Rosalina will also help with the search around the route that I know Elizabeth used to take her interceptions. Arthur, I'll also need your help, along with Fabian and Gideon."

"I'll let them know," Arthur said, and he and Moody left the room, leaving the remainder of the group to try and console Remus.

* * *

The news that Liz was missing had sent Remus into a nonstop state of panic. Even though Dumbledore had explained the entire Order began to search for the former Hufflepuff, there would be several days where Remus would search until his sister or best friend made with him to take a break.

"You're not doing Liz any good if you exhaust yourself to death," Cassie chastised when he had collapsed in her and Sirius's kitchen. "And if you don't start listening to us, I'll lock you into Robyn's nursery until you've come to your senses!"

Remus listened for the most part, but he continued to search for his wife. He would return home when the rest of the search party called it a day, though, just in case his sister stayed true to her word.

A month of searching, and there had been no news or signs of Liz, and Remus was about to go insane.

* * *

_October 4th, 1980_

A month after Liz had disappeared, Cassie, Sirius, and Remus were sitting in the kitchen of the Black's flat when a soft pecking mixed in with their conversation. They turned to the window in the kitchen, seeing a tawny owl perched outside, a letter in its beak.

Sirius stood up and opened the window, the owl dropping the letter into his hand before flexing its wings and taking off into the night. Sirius looked at the letter before handing it to Remus. "That's Dumbledore's handwriting," he said quietly. "After all the letters I saw during the trips James and I made to his office, I'd know it anywhere."

"How did the owl know to come here, though?" Cassie asked thoughtfully.

"Dumbledore probably knew that I would be here," Remus responded, unrolling the parchment and reading it out loud. " _Dear Mr. Lupin, I need to discuss something with you and your sister as soon as possible. Please come to my office. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore."_ He looked up at his sister and best friend, gripping the parchment tightly in his hands. "Do you think it's about–?"

"We don't know what it could be about, Remus," Cassie interrupted, knowing what her brother was going to say. She couldn't help but admit that was the first thing that ran through her mind as well. "Let's go see Dumbledore before we start making assumptions, okay?"

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sirius asked Cassie, looking at her in concern.

"We'll be fine. Stay here and watch after Robyn," she replied, standing up from the table and kissing him on the cheek (Remus made it his mission to busy himself with the latch on his cloak; despite Sirius and Cassie being married for over a year, he still wasn't partial to seeing them intimate with each other, not even something as innocent as a kiss). Sirius looked at Remus, giving him an encouraging smile before the siblings made their way to the fireplace and each throwing floo powder into the flames before each arriving in Dumbledore's office.

"Good evening, Remus…Cassie," the old man said quietly. Cassie acknowledged the old man with a curt nod, however, Remus looked around the room, noticing that they weren't the only ones there. Rose sat in one of the five chairs in front of their former Headmaster's desk and gave a small wave to Cassie. On her other side sat Liz's parents, both of them wearing similar looks of worry as they looked toward their son-in-law.

"What's going on, Professor?" Despite being out of Hogwarts for a few years, it didn't seem right to call Dumbledore, "Albus." Cassie made her way to Rose and sat beside her, but Remus stood in the same place.

Dumbledore sighed heavily, the usual twinkle in his eye gone. "You should sit before I explain," he responded gravely.

"No," Remus said sharply, taking a step closer to Dumbledore's desk. "What's going on? Did you find her? Is she okay?" There was no use of specifying who "she" was when it was obvious by the people in the room.

Dumbledore gave another heavy sigh and looked down, giving Remus the answer to his question. His heart began to beat faster, his knees getting weak. "One of our spies said that Voldemort discovered Elizabeth the night she was supposed to return home. How they realized she was an animagus, I do not know. From the spies within the Order, she was forced by Voldemort into questioning, which she bravely refused-"

"All for the bloody Order!" Remus snarled suddenly. His shoulders were starting to shake, his heart beating even faster each second. His sister stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off, looking at his ex-Headmaster with a look of hatred and pain.

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore responded softly. "It is true that I asked her to do this, and it is my fault that she was taken captive-"

"Stop!" Remus's voice began to crack as he placed his hands flat on Dumbledore's desk and looking up at him. " _What happened to my wife_ _?"_

Dumbledore looked back at Remus in the eyes, the others behind him silent. "We got word today from our spies." He indicated to the letter laying on his desk and shook his head. "They said they tried to infiltrate and rescue her, Remus, but…were unsuccessful. She's gone."

At that moment, everything froze around Remus. He stood at Dumbledore's desk, his fists clenched, his gaze almost staring through the wood. His heart seemed to stopped beating, and his whole body started to shake. His mind was in denial. Liz wasn't, she couldn't…it wasn't possible, it was just a nightmare…

"No, he whispered. "She's not gone…she's not gone…"

He kept repeating that to himself as Dumbledore his desk drawer. Remus turned away from the headmaster and looked around at the others. Mrs. Mallory was openly sobbing, her husband holding onto her with silent tears streaming down his face. Rose sat in shock, tears of her own filling her eyes. Cassie hand covered her mouth so she would start sobbing as tears also filled her eyes.

A hand fell gently on Remus's shoulder. He turned around, seeing Dumbledore's concerned face.

"She's not gone," Remus repeated, his voice beginning to break. The pressure in his chest was increasing and a lump was painfully forming in his throat. "She can't be."

A single tear formed in the old man's eye as he extended a letter to Remus. "She wrote this, just in case this happened. She wrote one for everybody. I'm truly, truly sorry, Remus."

Remus looked down at the letter as he took it in his hands. Seeing her handwriting, knowing it was the last time finally broke him. He gripped it tightly as a sob finally broke from his throat. His vision went blurry as tears filled his eyes and quickly fell down his cheeks. His heart shattered as he sank into the empty chair, not caring if he was in the middle of Dumbledore's office, not caring that others watched him through their own tears and heartbreak. All that he cared about was gone, the only pieces he had left were in the letter clutched to his chest and the gold band on his finger. Cassie pulled herself from her own chair and hugged her brother tightly, trying to lend some comfort to him.

He hugged her back as the tears continue to fall, everybody in the room silent at the new of Liz's death began to sink in. 


	15. Letting Go

_December 24, 1980_

It had been a couple of months since that night in Dumbledore's office. With Voldemort's forces getting stronger everyday, and James and Lily already in hiding with Harry, Sirius and Cassie had done the same thing with their daughter, Robyn. The births of his niece and Harry had probably been the only two times Remus had been seen with a true smile on his face since everything had happened.

Snow had started to fall as he made his way into the dark graveyard. Remus silently approached the white, marble stone…the rock that was now all that he had left of the love of his life. He fought back the tears that he had promised himself earlier he would not allow to come. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year for him and yet it was shrouded in darkness.

It was the anniversary of the day he had married Liz…one year ago today.

They should be celebrating today, putting up with Sirius and James giving them hell.

They should be planning out their futures, having arguments on whether or not they were going to have children.

They should be hosting Christmas Eve dinner for their friends and preparing last minute gifts for tomorrow's celebration.

Remus shouldn't have been visiting a gravestone that been put up by her parents despite having never found a body to place underneath it.

To mark the occasion, all he could do was find the stone that marked her memory and softly lay down two roses next against the headstone. They were yellow with a tint of blue on the tips…her favorite color thanks to a charm that he had learned at some point in his life. He knelt down in front of the rock and ran a hand down it as if were caressing her delicate face, and spoke quietly, hoping that some how, some way she could hear him.

"Liz…I know that it doesn't do much good now, but I'm sorry. God…I'm so sorry for everything." The tears were falling now and Remus let them, not caring anymore. "I'm sorry for letting you down, for not protecting you. It should have been me, I know that. It should have been me risking my life, not you. I feel like I'm the only person who thinks you're still alive out there somewhere, but your parents wanted to place this here so that we could mourn and move on. I'm not ready to move on."

He sighed and hung his head down and closed his eyes, letting his forehead rest against the stone. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. "I hope that somehow, wherever you are, that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me…forgive me because I can't forgive myself."

Tears still continued to fall from his eyes as his knees finally sank into the cold earth, his shoulders slumped and shaking. He didn't know how long he was sitting there, but when he felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, the ground around him was white.

"I should have known I would find you here today," his sister said softly.

"I just needed to be alone," he muttered, not looking up as he continued to stare at the gravestone in front of him.

"She wouldn't want to see you like this, Remus."

He looked down at the roses that were now covered in snow and shook his head. "I don't know what else to do, Cassie," he said. "I keep hearing Dumbledore…telling me all the time. I can't get it out of my head."

She sighed and bent down beside him, her hand still on his shoulder. She had never seen her brother so distraught in her life. There was only so much she and her parents could do to keep him from spiraling downward. James was in hiding and only Peter knew where they were since he and Sirius had decided to switch places. Remus was their Secret-Keeper, which allowed them to know that he was okay to an extent.

"I don't know what to tell you, Remus," Cassie said softly. "It's just something that you're going to have to figure out on your own. But…at some point, you're going to have to let her go."

"But what if she's still alive?"

Cassie sighed. "Dumbledore seemed to think his spies were pretty clear, Remus."

"But what if there was an off chance that Dumbledore's wrong?"

There was a sound of desperation in his voice that made Cassie want to cry. It was a testament to Remus's love for Liz, and she cursed Voldemort and the damned war for taking the one thing that made her brother feel like a normal person for the first time since they were children.

"Remus, I want to believe she's still alive, but we can't dwell on it. It's been almost three months, and there has been no news. She would want you to move on."

He gave a short nod, trying to pull himself together enough for his sister's sake. He stood up, brushing the snow from his cloak before wiping away his tears.

"It's Christmas Eve," she said softly. "Sirius sent me to find you, and to tell you that you're welcome to stay with us tonight. Besides," she gave a small smile, "it's your niece's first Christmas. You wouldn't want to miss that, especially with how Sirius has everything set up."

"I guess not," he mumbled, giving a half-hearted smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll meet you back at the house." Cassie gave him a suspicious look and he added, "I promise…I just need to grab something at home." He still wanted to call his and Liz's place 'ours,' and he wasn't about to just claim the place as 'mine.'

She nodded and gave him a sympathetic look before disapparating from the graveyard. Remus sighed and looked back at where he had been sitting one last time before following his sister with a small  _pop._

* * *

_Back with Harry…_

* * *

The entire kitchen was in silence after Sirius finished talking. Remus had returned, and was now sitting with the letter folded out in his hands like he was studying the contents of the parchment. Silently, he passed it to Harry. He found the entire page covered in the same, curly handwriting that Remus's name was etched in on the front.

_Dear Remus,_

_If you're reading this letter, then something went wrong within the Order. First off, I'm sorry that my final goodbye must come from a letter. I want you to know that it kills me to even write this, but Dumbledore insists that we do, this in case. All that I hope and pray is that I never have to read a final goodbye from you._

_Quite frankly, I'm at a loss for words. What do you say in a letter that will be delivered after you've died or disappeared? There's so many things I want to say, and not enough time or parchment in this house to cover them. I guess I should start off saying that I hope after I'm gone, you'll move on. I know you'll always love me as I will you, but I hope somebody will come along one day and will care and love you as much as I did. I know if something had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to move on. Maybe you can do I what I couldn't._

_Not a day goes by that I don't think of our times within the walls of Hogwarts. I'll never forget the first time Cassie introduced us, and if I remember correctly, I gracefully tripped after that encounter. First years and their clumsiness, eh? You seemed to have had that effect on me where I couldn't think properly around you. As the years went by, the closer you and I got. The only thing that worries me besides leaving you is Cassie and Rose. I hope Cassie and Sirius stay together, and hopefully Rose will find somebody to settle down with after the war too. At this point, I just hope you all survive longer than I do._

_I know this war is getting worse every day, and I know you don't approve of me going on this mission Dumbledore is asking me to do. What I hate the most isn't the fact that it requires me to be gone for three months, but the fact that I won't be with you. I won't get to see your smile in the morning, or feel your arms around me at the end of the day. I won't be able to help you before the full moon, or care for you afterward. It kills me to know that these next few days before I leave may be the last time I see you._

_Don't give up hope, Remus. Even though I'm gone, you have strong support system around you. Your family, Cassie, Rose (on a good day), Sirius, James, and Lily are there for you. The Order is there for you. And I will always, always be watching over you._

_I love you,_

_Elizabeth_

Harry put the letter back down on the table and slid it back to his ex-Professor. "I'm so sorry, Remus," Harry said finally. He felt that through Sirius and Remus's story, that he had known all of them personally, like they had all been together the day before. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been to lose her."

Remus nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Harry turned back to Sirius, who was looking at his best friend in concern.

"What happened to Cassie?" he asked.

Sirius sighed. "I wish I knew. After your parents were murdered and I knew that Pettigrew was to blame, I told Cassie that I was going to confront him about it. I knew there was a possibility that I may not make it back. I told her that…if that were to happen, I wanted her to take our daughter and hide. I've been looking for two years, ever since I was released from Azkaban. I haven't seen her…or my daughter."

"Do you think she may be at Hogwarts?" Harry asked hopefully, at least for his godfather's sake.

"I wondered the same thing. I thought maybe, by some miracle that Cassie would have let Robyn come to Hogwarts, perhaps under a different alias to keep her identity safe from both the Ministry and the students of Hogwarts. Merlin only knew what kind of torture she would have gone through if it were to come out that she was the daughter of 'the infamous Sirius Black.' But according to Dumbledore, Robyn must have either gone to another Wizarding school or Cassie home schooled her."

"So, you haven't seen your daughter"-

"Since she was one…the same age you were when I had last seen you."

"What happened to Rose?"

"She married Thomas Ransley, and then a couple of years later, they split, and nobody has seen her since." It was Remus who responded this time. "I think never making up with Liz before she left on her assignment ate at her the most. The only reason I know is because Dumbledore had Severus making the Wolfsbane potion for me. He let it slip that it had been a while since he had seen her."

"We lost several people to Voldemort," Sirius continued softly. "But we held onto to our friends and family as long as we could." He looked at Harry with a serious expression. "I know that this year has been rough for you with Umbridge and the Ministry trying to bring you and Dumbledore down. Keep your friends close to you, Harry. You guys will fight – you heard all about our ups and downs – and you'll make up. It's better to fight with them and still have them in your life than push them away and be miserable."

"I found that out first hand," Remus added quietly. "You think you're pushing them away to protect them, but the truth is you want nothing more than for that person to be right by your side the entire time."

Harry fell silent, thinking about how much he had been pushing Ron and Hermione away this past year. And yet, no matter how much he pushed, they stuck by him no matter what. Ron and Hermione were his equivalent to the Marauders and the girls. He needed to start treating them as such.

A group of voices came from upstairs, and Harry could point out Mrs. Weasley yelling at Fred and George over something. He knew it was only a matter of time before one or all of them joined the two Marauders. He stood up, looking at the two former Gryffindors with a sad smile.

"Thanks for telling me about your past, both of you," he said. "And I hope you find Cassie and Robyn, Sirius."

"I hope our past helps you," Remus answered, a small smile also on his face.

"Thanks, Harry," Sirius said. "And…so do I."

Harry gave them one last look before bolting upstairs and seeking out Ron and Hermione. Sirius and Remus both knew that it was only a matter of time before he retold their story to his best friends. Somehow they both knew that Hermione would be the most interested and Ron would ask the same questions that Harry had asked them.

"You okay, Moony?" Sirius finally asked, still looking at his best friend in concern.

Remus had picked up Liz's letter again, running a hand over the now fading ink. "Yeah," he answered. "I'm fine."

"You know if Cassie was here, she would ask if you were lying."

"I know she would. And I would tell her the same answer I just told you."

"Think Harry's learned anything from this?"

Remus sighed. "I hope so, Padfoot. Maybe now he'll realize how important Ron and Hermione actually are to him."

Sirius nodded and fell silent, looking down at the pictures in front of him. Cassie was smiling up at him as she wrapped her arms around his picture self, who looked as smug and happy as ever. If only they could go back and relieve those moments now.

The two Marauders packed the box back up, but Sirius noticed that Remus slid Liz's letter into the pockets of his robes. Mrs. Weasley came down into the kitchen, a few of the other Order members following.

"Harry didn't stay upstairs the entire time we were gone, did he?" Mrs. Weasley asked, noticing that Sirius and Remus were still sitting the same place they'd been when everybody had left several hours ago.

"He actually just went back upstairs, Molly," Sirius said. "I'd say Remus and I almost talked his ears off."

Mrs. Weasley peered into the box between them, noticing the picture of Sirius and Cassie laying on top. It didn't take much for her to realize what their conversation had been about. "How do you think he's holding up? I know he's been off since the night Dumbledore sent the kids home early."

"I think he's going to be okay, Molly," Remus assured. "Recovery is a long process, after all."

Sirius looked at his best friend as Mrs. Weasley nodded and started to prepare dinner. "You really think Harry's going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Remus said, and Sirius had a feeling that the werewolf was talking more to himself than about his godson. "Yeah, I think he is."

The two friends once again put their past behind them as the topic went to how Mr. Weasley was recovering. As they talked, Sirius kept glancing at his best friend, noticing that he seemed a little more relaxed than he had been. Maybe reliving their lives for Harry not only helped him, but Remus as well.

Maybe now he could finally start letting go.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, we've made it to the end. But do not be alarmed, my fellow reviewers…this is not the last that you've seen of the Marauders, Cassie, Rose, and Severus. The sequel will be posted in a couple of days, so keep an eye out.


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